A/PROF CAROLINE FORD
Associate Professor and Group Leader of Gynaecological Cancer Research Group at UNSW
Caroline, an advocate for diversity and women in STEM, is determined to make a difference for women with ovarian cancer.
“As a feminist, I have a strong interest in women’s health and feel ovarian cancer has been overlooked and underfunded for far too long.”
— A/Prof Caroline Ford
One of Caroline’s current major ovarian cancer projects aims to develop an early detection test for ovarian cancer via detecting methylated DNA in a patient’s blood. “The majority of ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread to other organs, making surgery and treatment difficult,” says Caroline. “We’re aiming to develop a sensitive and specific test to detect ovarian cancer at the very earliest stage, when curative surgery is possible."
Although Caroline feels incredibly lucky to lead a group of dedicated researchers in her lab, and to collaborate with patients and clinicians to improve outcomes for the disease, confronting the low survival rate is something she finds very difficult. “Through my research, fundraising and the media I have been lucky to meet many amazing women with this disease, but sadly many of these relationships are brief,” says Caroline. “It’s challenging, but ultimately motivating. I’d like to assure ovarian cancer patients that there is an international army of committed ovarian cancer researchers out there collaborating on research and working hard to improve the situation.”
DR EMILY COVIN
Postdoctoral Researcher, Kolling Institute, NSW
Sydney-based scientist, Emily, is currently working on several ovarian cancer projects, one of which is testing novel therapies in the aim to make it more difficult for cancer cells to survive and spread.
“Even though I don’t get to do it very often, talking to patients about my research, answering their questions and learning more about their experiences is very rewarding. It really helps to put the research I do into perspective,” says Emily, whose long-term goals is to see some of the treatments she has been working on in the lab make it to clinical trial stage.
Emily stresses the importance of funding for ovarian cancer, saying, “Better treatments are needed to improve outcomes for these women, and this is only going to be achieved through research. Increasing the amount of research into early detection of ovarian cancer has the potential to drastically change the prognosis of this tumour type.”
DR TRACY O’MARA
Endometrial Cancer Researcher, QIMR Berghofer, QLD
Tracy’s research grant is co-funded by Cancer Australia through the Priority-driven Cancer Support Scheme. Her second year was 50% funded by The Can Too Foundation.
Tracy is passionate about her work in ovarian cancer and is determined to improve the outcomes for patients. “It’s a dreadful disease which needs more research into its genetic underpinnings,” she says.
Tracy is currently exploring the genetic links common to the development of ovarian and endometrial (uterine) cancer, two gynaecological cancers which share some similarities. The research has allowed Tracy to lead one of the largest cross-cancer studies involving genetic data from over 30,000 ovarian and endometrial cancer patients. They discovered four genetic sequences that increases a woman’s risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. “I work with an international network of researchers, collaborating to further our understanding of cancer. It’s pretty inspiring!”
The most challenging aspect of Tracy’s work is acquiring grant funding to carry out her work. “There are a lot of great researchers doing good work and a limited amount of money available to fund them,” she explains. “Because the outcomes for women with ovarian cancer are often not good compared with other cancers, we need to do more research to understand the biology of ovarian cancer and discover new drug targets to develop more effective therapies.”
Despite the challenges, Tracy is hopeful. She has recently won the prestigious Young Tall Poppy Science Award 2022 for her work in cancer research.
“In the last 10 years, there have been major advances in the tools used to research cancer, which is helping us understand how ovarian cancer develops and will eventually lead to the development of new therapies to better treat patients.”
— A/Prof Tracy O'Mara
DR SHAFIQ SYED
Endometrial Cancer Researcher, University of Newcastle, NSW
Shafiq’s interest in the reproductive system was piqued when he was doing veterinary medicine. “Bleeding is a sign of a healthy female reproductive tract, unlike with other organs. The uterus regenerates every month. How and why does it do that? That’s why my PhD started with exploring the stem cells and cells that are responsible for menstruation and regeneration.”
Shafiq and his team then discovered a novel marker (Axin2+) in a breakthrough study for endometrial stem cells, making them one of the leading groups in the world for endometrial biology. Their research will be the first of its kind to target the cell of origin for endometrial cancer, with the potential to develop non-surgical therapeutic treatments that are especially important for EC patients who have multiple co-morbidities.
Their discovery of the stem cell of origin for endometrial cancer is promising for the future of gynaecological research, which has historically lagged behind other cancer research when it comes to progress.
“Women’s problems, pains, and diseases are constantly overlooked. They are so often brushed aside or perceived as normal that instead of speaking of the severity of these problems, I often find myself having to talk about the existence of these diseases first.”
— Dr Shafiq Syed
The general lack of awareness about women’s diseases, such as gynaecological cancers, makes it even more challenging for researchers such as Shafiq to secure vital funding. “Whether you apply for national funding or industry funding, you always have to justify up and down why you’re doing research in women’s diseases, which is strange. Women suffer from gynaecological cancer, and even if it is not the deadliest cancer out there, those who have it often have to choose between having kids and living.”
Because of your generosity, Cure Cancer researchers have gone on to attract an average of 30 times more new research funding than their initial Cure Cancer grant. This multiplying effect leads to a greater chance of finding a cure for cancer.
We want to guarantee that underfunded cancer types, like gynaecological cancer, are properly investigated. We dream of patient outcomes for women, trans men, non-binary, intersex, and all other people who may be affected by gynaecological cancer. Will you help us make a difference in their lives through cancer research?
