John Liao, MD, PhDUniversity of Washington2011 Gilman Family Scholar Development of a Polyepitope DNA Vaccine for Ovarian Cancer Immunotherapy While ovarian cancer patients can respond to chemotherapy and achieve remission, the majority of advanced stage patients succumb to recurrent disease. Strategies harnessing the immune system have the potential to augment available therapies, prolong remissions, and […]
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Alexandra Snyder Charen, MDSloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Researchr Chemotherapy, Somatic Mutations, and Neoantigens in Ovarian Cancer Immunotherapy is a new treatment that boosts a patient’s immune system to attack ovarian cancer cells. Dr. Synder Charen’s lab has already shown in melanoma that when a tumor has a large number of genetic abnormalities (mutations), the immune […]
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Kwan Ho Tang, PhDNew York UniversityNew York, NY, United States 2019 Scientific Scholar Award Research in Focus: Novel therapies to treat ovarian cancer Targeting SHP2 and MEK in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer High-grade serous ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecological disease. Dr. Tang and colleagues have shown in that a combination treatment of SHP2 inhibitor […]
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Sarah Beth Gitto, PhDUniversity of Pennsylvania2019 Scientific Scholar Award Priming the TME with anti-VEGF to enhance the efficacy of dual checkpoint inhibition in PARPi-resistant OC Recent studies have shown that the use of the PARP inhibitor olaparib increases survival of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, most patients will become resistant to PARP inhibitors, thus novel treatment strategies […]
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Ilona Kryczek, PhDUniversity of Michigan IL-17+ T cells in patients with ovarian cancer T helper cells (Th), a sub-group of white blood cells, play a crucial role in inflammatory responses and autoimmune diseases, but are poorly understood in human pathology. By using our well-established human ovarian cancer model, we propose to map out the basic […]
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Ingegerd Hellstrom, MD, PhDUniversity of Washington Silencing TGFbeta to increase the immunogenicity of ovarian carcinoma cells This study aims to improve a woman’s prognosis by adding a therapeutic vaccination to encourage the body to mount an anti-tumor response using the secreted growth regulatory protein TGFβ (transforming growth factor). Dr. Hellstrom has shown that a mouse […]
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Henning Boldt, PhDMayo Clinic The role of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in ovarian cancer PAPP-A is a protein that has been shown to reduce tumor incidence and burden. Using a PAPP-A mouse model, Dr. Boldt will examine the development of growth of ovarian cancer and the immune response. The results will provide insight into the […]
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Xiaohong (Mary) Zhang, PhDUniversity of South Florida, College of Medicine Mechanisms by which HDAC inhibitors sensitize cisplatin resistant ovarian cells Overcoming platinum-resistance in ovarian cancer patients remains a great challenge. Recently, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are being used to minimize resistance. HDAC6 may confer the cisplatin-resistance by down-regulating a DNA repair complex. Dr. Zhang will […]
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Thomas Spies, PhDFred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survival Signaling by the NKG2D Immunoreceptor in Ovarian Cancer Cancers adopt diverse strategies for immune evasion to safeguard their survival. The activating immunoreceptor NKG2D and its tumor-associated ligand MICA are key components in the human lymphocyte defense against cancer. Dr. Spies has discovered that solid tumors including ovarian […]
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Xuefang Cao, MD, PhDRoswell Park Cancer Institute Granzyme B-Dependent Regulatory T Cell Function in Ovarian Cancer While effector lymphocytes are known to mediate anti-tumor immune responses, regulatory T cells (Tregs) have recently been found to promote tumor progression in ovarian cancer patients. Perforin and granzyme B are cytotoxic molecules previously known to be utilized by […]
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