Molly Cade Memorial Research Award
Kimberly Kalli, Ph.D
Mayo College of Medicine, Women’s Health
Pre-clinical evaluation of a folate peptide vaccine for ovarian cancer
$58,710 (This amount includes $33,710 from the general MOCA research funds.)
Focus: overcoming tumor-induced immune suppression and developing a vaccine to boost immunity

MOCA’s Agency of Distinction – Eleven Who Care Research Grant Award Melissa Geller, MD
University of Minnesota, Department of Ob-Gyn and Women’s Health
Phase II Study of 852A Administered Subcutaneously in Patients with Metastatic Ovarian Fallopian Tube, Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma
$25,000
Focus: testing a new drug for safety and toxicity and assessing its ability to activate immunity in women with recurrent disease

AmySkubitz, Ph.D
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
University of Minnesota
Validation of potential biomarkers for ovarian cancer discovered by DIGE and iTraq.
$75,000
Focus: improving early detection by validating new blood biomarkers

ah-Whye Peng, Ph.D
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo
Pre-clinical development of measles infected cell carriers for ovarian cancer
$80,000
Focus: improving treatment efficacy by testing whether a carrier for the measles virus (with its antitumor activity) can be found

Viji Shridhar, Ph.D
Cancer Center and Division of Experimental Pathology, Mayo
Role of HtrA1 in Targeting sCLU Implicated in Chemoresistance
$57,000.
Focus: identifying genes that confer chemosensitivity vs. chemoresistance

Csilla Szabo, Ph.D
Department of Experimental Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Candidate Gene Approach for Identification of Novel Ovarian Cancer Susceptibility Genes
$70,000
Focus: searching for genes other than BRCA 1 and 2 in families at higher risk for OVCA