Barbara Norquist, MDUniversity of Washington2013 Skacel Family Scholar Genes Contributing to Hereditary Ovarian Cancer in BRCA1/2 Wildtype Families Nearly a quarter of ovarian cancer cases may be caused by inherited mutations, with a significant portion caused by mutations in genes other than BRCA1 and BRCA2 (BRCA1/2). Next generation sequencing techniques have made it possible to […]
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John Paul Shen, MDUniversity of California, San Diego Improving Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer: A Network Genomics Approach Technological advances now allow for sequencing of tumors from large patient cohorts. However, this knowledge of the cancer genome has not yet been translated into the clinical practice of oncology. Dr. Shen works in the Ideker lab which […]
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Jessica Bertout, PhD, VMDFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center2013 Gilman Family Scholar High-Resolution Detection of Somatic Ovarian Cancer Mutations in Bodily Fluids Owing to a lack of effective screening tests, 80% of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed in late stages of the disease at which point there are low survival rates. Methods that enumerate tumor cells […]
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Lin Zhang, MDUniversity of Pennsylvania Reconstruction of the Heterochronic Pathway for Ovarian Cancer Treatment The heterochronic pathway orchestrates the timing of cell divisions and fates during development. Its core elements, LIN28 and the microRNA let-7, form bistable switches via a double-negative regulatory loop. Dr. Zhang has previously reported that let-7 is downregulated in epithelial ovarian […]
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Yunfei Wen, PhDUniversity of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Suicidal Autophagy: Targeting Tumoral PRL/PRLR Axis in Ovarian Cancer G129R, a molecular antagonist to tumoral PRLR, robustly inhibits tumor growth through formation of excessive autophagosomes in ovarian cancer cells. Dr. Wen will explore the regulatory mechanism of G129R-induced autophagy in ovarian cancer cells and therapeutically evaluate […]
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Neveen Said, MD, PhDUniversity of Virginia Regulation and Function of SPARC in Ovarian Cancer Epithelial Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is the leading cause of death from gynecologic malignancies. Despite aggressive treatment, recurrence is common with poor survival. Dr. Said has recently reported the loss of expression of the tumor suppressor of the glycoprotein SPARC in advanced […]
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Anirban Mitra, PhDIndiana University Microenvironment Induced Epigenetic Regulation in Ovarian Cancer The spreading of cancer cells from the primary ovarian tumor to distant organs within the abdomen is the most critical step in ovarian cancer. Yet it remains the least understood aspect of the disease. Using unique and clinically relevant experimental models, including primary human […]
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Karen Lounsbury, PhDUniversity of Vermont and State Agricultural College Protein Translation Regulators and the Ovarian Cancer Microenvironment The Lounsbury/Francklyn labs have discovered a role for the enzyme threonyl tRNA synthetase (TARS) in promoting blood vessel growth (angiogenesis) in ovarian cancer. These studies led to the characterization of a selective TARS inhibitor that reduces angiogenesis in […]
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Hani Gabra, PhD, FRCPImperial College London Therapeutic Delivery of OPCML Tumor Suppressor Protein Using Virus-Like Particles Tumor suppressor proteins are natural cellular defense mechanisms against cancer because they keep tumor-causing proteins under control by promoting their degradation. OPCML is such a tumor suppressor; however, it is inactive in most cases of ovarian cancer. Dr. Gabra’s […]
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Hiu Wing Cheung, PhDMedical University of South Carolina Development of Oncogene-Targeted Therapy for Ovarian Cancer Tumors contain thousands of DNA alterations, making it difficult to identify the causal factors of the disease. This proposal applies high-throughput screening approach to assess 500 genes for their ability to promote tumor growth. Dr. Cheung identified GAB2 as a […]
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