Seattle, WA: The Rivkin Center, a Seattle-based 501(c)(3), announced that they have awarded $1.455 million in ovarian cancer research grants to sixteen scientists across the globe. The amount funded was nearly a 20% increase over last year. The Rivkin Center’s unique approach to funding provides researchers leverage to access larger pots of federal funds for ovarian cancer research to make major impact in moving research forward.
Left to Right: Joe White, MBA (Rivkin Center Executive Director), Goldie Liu, PhD (staff scientist in the Kemp lab), Christopher Kemp, PhD (recipient of the 2019 Sequoyah Electric Pilot Study Award), and Saul Rivkin, MD (Rivkin Center Founder & Chairperson).
The awardees this year will focus on research projects investigating the biological processes that cause ovarian cancer, novel therapies to treat ovarian cancer, early detection and prevention, and understanding and overcoming resistance to chemotherapy. A complete list of all pilot study awardees is available at www.rivkin.org/research/pilot-awards and scientific scholar awardees is available at www.rivkin.org/research/scholar-awards.
“Recent, major advancements in ovarian cancer treatment were built upon the science and discoveries made by every scientist who came before them,” says Dr. Saul Rivkin, founder of the Rivkin Center and retired medical oncologist at Swedish Cancer Institute. “Each project gets us closer to a cure, and we are proud to fund researchers who are on the cutting-edge of science.”
Ovarian cancer kills approximately 14,000 women every year in the United States. Yet despite being the most deadly gynecological cancer, ovarian cancer continues to be underfunded by federal funding agencies when compared to other cancers. The Rivkin Center plays a pivotal role in helping the forward progress of ovarian cancer research to better understand prevention, improve early detection, and discover new life-saving treatments.
“The results from our Rivkin-funded pilot study will allow my team to apply for further competitive funding from the National Health & Medical Research Council in 2020 to progress our laboratory-based ovarian cancer research to clinical trial,” stated Dr. Caroline Ford, University of New South Wales, Australia and 2019 Rivkin Center Pilot Study Grant Awardee.
About the Rivkin Center: The Rivkin Center invests in cutting-edge ovarian cancer research, educates women to prevent and detect ovarian and breast cancer as early as possible, and fosters an ever-growing community of survivors, patients, researchers, clinicians, advocates, and supporters.
For press inquiries, contact:
Heike Malakoff
Director of Marketing and Education, Rivkin Center
Heike.Malakoff@swedish.org