Early Career Investigator Grant
(Formerly Liz Tilberis Early Career Award)
Launched in December 2000, the Early Career Investigator Grant is for junior faculty (Assistant Professor level) with a strong commitment to an investigative career in ovarian cancer research. Each grantee will receive a three-year grant of $150,000 per year.
2023 Grant Recipients
- Xiaowen Hu, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Targeting Chromatin Modifiers to Treat Ovarian Cancer
- Brooke Howitt, MD, Stanford University Identifying the Cell of Origin for High- Grade Serous Carcinoma
- Priyanka Verma, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis Role of Chromatin on PARP Inhibitor Responses in BRCA-Mutant Ovarian Cancer
- Kyle Payne, PhD, Rutgers University Mitochondrial Stress Impairs Protective T Cell Immunity in Ovarian Cancer
- Haider Mahdi, MD, Magee-Womens Research Institute Targeting CD47-SIRPa Axis to Overcome Therapy Resistance in Ovarian Cancer
- Bob McGray, PhD, Roswell Park Cancer Institute BiTE-secreting T cells for Adoptive T cell Therapy in Ovarian Cancer
- Richard Adeyemi, DVM, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Synthetic Lethality of the Protexin and BRCA Complexes in Ovarian Cancer
2022 Grant Recipients
- Livnat Jerby, Stanford University Targeting multifactorial immune evasion mechanisms in ovarian cancer
- Haineng Xu, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Strategies to Exploit Genetic Alterations in Clear-Cell Ovarian Cancer
- Jasmine Plummer, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Chemopreventative Targets in BRCA1 Carrier Models with P53 Lesions (Gail Baird Foundation Research Grant Recipient)
- Lindsay Brubaker, MD, University of Colorado - Denver Targeting Chromobox 2 to Overcome Macrophage-induced Immune Suppression
- Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center BRCA-deficient Ovarian Cancer and IFITM3: a New Power Couple
- Maria Victoria Botuyan, PhD, Mayo Clinic Rochester Probing How RAD18 and BARD1 Antagonize 53BP1 in HR DNA Repair
- Chi Lam Au Yeung, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center Cancer-derived Exosomal miRNAs Modulate Ovarian Tumor Microenvironment
2021 Grant Recipients
- Ichiko Kinjyo, MD, PhD, University of New Mexico A Novel Mechanism for the Immunomodulatory Effects of PARP-inhibitor
- Arun Kanakkanthara, PhD, Mayo Clinic Exploiting a Metabolic Dependency of PARPinhibitor-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
- Liya Ding, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Targeting Therapeutic Resistance to PARP Inhibition in Ovarian Cancer
- Sandra Cascio, PhD, Magee-Womens Research Institute EGFL6 as a New Regulator of Myeloid Cell Expansion and Function in HGSOC
2020 Grant Recipients
- Nidhi Sahni, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center Systems Approach for PARP-based Novel Combination Therapy in Ovarian Cancer
- James Duncan, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center Exploring PROTAC-Mediated Degradation of BRD4 in Ovarian Cancer
- Mark Eckert, PhD, University of Chicago The Fate and Function of Adipocytes in Ovarian Cancer Metastasis
- Sudipto Ganguly, PhD, Johns Hopkins University Characterizing a Novel Checkpoint Axis in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
- Brooke Howitt, MD, Stanford University Identifying the Cell of Origin for Ovarian High-Grade Serous Carcinoma
- Sunila Pradeep, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin Epigenetic Causes of Acquired Resistance of Anti-VEGF Therapy
- Boris Winterhoff, MD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Precision Medicine in Ovarian Cancer: Using Single Cell Analysis
- Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Chromatin Remodeling and Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer
2019 Grant Recipients
- Min Soon Cho, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center The Role of Platelet in the Regulation of Immune Response to Ovarian Cancer
- Zihua Gong, MD, PhD, Cleveland Clinic DNA Repair Pathways as Targets for Therapy-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
- Xiaowen Hu, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Targeting Chromatin Remodeling Complex to Treat Ovarian Cancer
- Kate Lawrenson, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Elucidating the Role of SOX17 in HGSOC
- Elizabeth Stover, MD, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Targeting Anti-apoptotic Proteins BCL-XL and MCL-1 in Serous Ovarian Cancer
- Takemasa Tsuji, PhD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Utilization of Tumor-recognizing CD4+T Cells in Cancer Immunotherapy
- Kris Wood, PhD, Duke University Precision Targeting of Altered Mitochondrial States in Ovarian Cancer
2018 Grant Recipients
- Maria Victoria Botuyan, PhD, Mayo Clinic Probing the Antagonistic Roles of 53BP1 and RAD18 in HR DNA Repair
- Katherine Fuh, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis Inhibition of Metastasis in BRCA2-associated Ovarian Cancers
- Hilary Kenny, PhD, The University of Chicago The Role of Mesothelial Cells in Ovarian Cancer Metastasis
- Chunsheng Li, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Imaging Guided Immunotherapy Targeting CD248 for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
- Sumegha Mitra, PhD, Indiana University UCHL1 Regulates Oncogenic Signaling in Ovarian Cancer
- Jian Yuan, PhD, Mayo Clinic The Role of BRD9-Rad51 Axis in Chemoresistance in Ovarian Cancer
2017 Grant Recipients
- Alessia Baccarini, PhD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Regulation of the Immune Checkpoint PD-L1 in Ovarian Cancer
- Ronald Chandler, PhD, Michigan State University Integrated Roles of Epigenetics and Cell Signaling in Ovarian Cancer
- Ilana Chefetz, PhD, University of Michigan Drugs Inducing Necroptotic Cell Death As A New Strategy for High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
- Michael Goldberg, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Rational Immunity to Improve Survival Following Standard-of-care Chemo
- Sunila Pradeep, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin Epigenetic Causes of Acquired Resistance to Anti-VEGF Therapy
- Boris Winterhoff, MD, University of Minnesota Twin Cities Precision Medicine in Ovarian Cancer: Using Single Cell Analysis
2016 Grant Recipients
- Pradeep Chaluvally-Raghavan, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin Unexpected Role of CLDN11 cdRNA in Ovarian Cancer
- Alberto Ciccia, PhD, Columbia University Medical Center Defining the Molecular Mechanisms of BRCA1-dependent Tumor Suppression
- Zihua Gong, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center DNA Repair Pathways as Target for Therapy-Resistant Ovarian Cancer
- Hui Shen, PhD, Van Andel Research Institute An Epigenomic Approach to Delineate Cells of Origin in Early Tumorigenesis
- Alexandra Snyder Charen, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Unmasking Ovarian Cancers to Induce Immune Control
- Sherry Wu, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center Re-activating Anti-tumor Immunity Using Non-coding RNAs
2015 Grant Recipients
- Sarah Adams, MD, University of New Mexico A Combination Therapy for Hereditary Ovarian Cancer
- Cesar Castro, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital Leveraging DNA-Barcoding for Integrated Profiling of Ovarian Cancer
- Daniela Dinulescu, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Modeling Serous Ovarian Carcinoma Using Genetic Markers Specific for the Distal Fallopian Tube
- Yutaka Shoji, PhD, Michigan State University ARID1A Regulates ATAD2 in Ovarian Cancer
- Takemasa Tsuji, PhD, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Utilization of Tumor-recognizing CD4+T cells in Cancer Immunotherapy
- Sarah Walker, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Targeting Transcription Factor Networks for Ovarian Cancer Therapy
- Kris Wood, PhD, Duke University Defining New Combination Therapies for High-grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
2014 Grant Recipients
- Hiu Wing (Tony) Cheung, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina Functional Genomics Approaches to Identify Ovarian Cancer Genes
- Rachel Grisham, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Determining the Molecular Drivers of Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
- Ryan B. Jensen, PhD, Yale University A Cellular Switch to Modulate BRCA2-mediated Tumor Progression
- Selvendiran Karuppaiyah, PhD, Ohio State University New Type of Experimental Drug for Ovarian Cancer
- Barbara Stulken Norquist, MD, University of Washington Molecular Biomarkers to Predict PARP Inhibitor Response in Ovarian Cancer
- Matthias Stephan, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center In vivo Programming of Ovarian Tumor-reactive T-cells Using Nanoparticles
- S John Weroha, MD, PhD, Mayo Clinic Ovarian Cancer Surrogates to Study Platinum Resistance
2013 Grant Recipients
- Maria Barbolina, PhD, University of Illinois - Chicago Chemokine-Dependent Control of Survival in Ovarian Carcinoma
- Stephanie Gaillard, MD, PhD, Duke Cancer Institute Evaluating ERRalpha as a Novel Therapeutic Target in Ovarian Cancer
- Michael Goldberg, PhD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute siRNA Targeting Immunosuppressive and Oncogenic Pathways in Ovarian Cancer
- Xin Huang, PhD, Magee-Womens Research Institute Noval Strategy of Metabolic Targeting Ovarian Cancer: Focusing on the Tumor Hypoxia Pathway
- Mythreye Karthikeyan, PhD, University of South Carolina Investigating the TGFß Superfamily as Therapeutic Targets in Ovarian Cancer
- Joyce Liu, MD, MPH, Dana Farber Cancer Institute Investigating ErbB3 as a Novel Therapeutic Target in Ovarian Cancer
2012 Grant Recipients
- Karen Cowden Dahl, PhD, Indiana University Investigation of ARID3B Splicing as a Novel Therapeutic Target for Ovarian Cancer
- Daniela Dinulescu, PhD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Modeling Serous Ovarian Carcinoma Using Genetic Markers Specific for the Distal Fallopian Tube
- Ivan Garcia-Bassets, PhD, University of California - San Diego Targeting the Epigenetic Plasticity of the Platinum Response in Drug-resistant Ovarian Cancer Cells
- Shannon Hawkins, MD, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine The Function of ARID1A in the Transformation of Endometriosis to Ovarian Cancer
- W. Ruprecht Wiedemeyer, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Ovarian Cancer Evolution After Targeted Therapy
2011 Grant Recipients
- Sarah Adams, MD, University of Pennsylvania Development of Combination Therapy with PARP-Inhibitors and Immunomodulation for BRCA1-Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
- Joanna Burdette, PhD, University of Illinois - Chicago Identifying Early Events in Ovarian cancer Using a 3-D Model of Ovarian Tissues
- Analisa DiFeo, PhD, moun, Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University What is the Relationship Between an miRNA Molecule and Resistance to Chemotherapy?
- Selvendiran Karuppaiyah, PhD, Ohio State University Safe, Targeted, Antitumor Therapeutics (STAT3 Inhibitors) for Ovarian Cancer
- Ann Klopp, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center Fat Cells May Be Source of Stem Cells That Promote Ovarian Cancer
- Bin Zhang, MD, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Developing Ways to Enhance the Immune System’s Ability to Fight Ovarian Cancer
- Mary Zhang, MS, PhD, University South Florida Understanding Mechanisms that Lead to Resistance to Platinum-based Treatments
2009 Grant Recipients
- Kathryn Terry, ScD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital The Role of Genetics and Environment on Telomere Length in Ovarian Cancer
- Lin Zhang, MD, University of Pennsylvania MicroRNAs, PI-3 kinase, and Ovarian Cancer Stem Cell Differentiation
2008 Grant Recipients
- Anika Agarwal, MD, MPhil, Tufts Medical Center Characterizing a Key Biological Pathway in the Ovarian Cancer Microenvironment
- Ronald Buckanovich, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Tumor Blood Vessels in Ovarian Cancer Development, Diagnosis and for Treatment
- Jose Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, The Wistar Institute Reprogramming Immune Cells to Treat Ovarian Cancer
- Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, University of Chicago Understanding the Molecular Biology of Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer
- Monique Spillman, MD, PhD, University of Colorado - Denver Determining the Role of Estrogen in Ovarian Cancer
- Rugang Zhang, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center Exploiting Natural Cell Behavior to Stop Cancer Cell Growth
2007 Grant Recipients
- Deborah Altomare, PhD, University of Central Florida Clarifying the Molecules Involves in Ovarian Cancer Growth and Progression
- Stephen L. Rose, MD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School Studying the Molecules Involved in Ovarian Cancer Development
2006 Grant Recipients
- Lin Zhang, MD, University of Pennsylvania The Role of PIK3CA in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
- Kathryn Terry, ScD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Telomeres and Telomerase in Relation to Ovarian Cancer Risk
- Douglas A. Levine, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Method to Determine if a Male Hormone, Naturally Present in Woman, Affects the Risk of Developing Ovarian Cancer
- Heidi Gray, MD, University of Washington Using Antibodies to Detect Early Ovarian Cancer
- Denise C. Connolly, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center Developing Mouse Models of Ovarian Cancer
2005 Grant Recipients
- Andrew Li, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Testing Medications for Other Conditions to Treat Ovarian Cancer
- Jose Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, Dartmouth Medical School Vascular Leukocytes as novel anti-tumor therapeutic targets
- Jeremy Chien, PhD, Mayo Clinic How Cell Shape Changes Lead to Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer
2004 Grant Recipients
- Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, University of Chicago Role and Regulation of Hepatocyte Growth Factor and c-Met in Ovarian Cancer
- Oliver Dorigo, MD, PhD, University of California - Los Angeles Phenotypic and Molecular Effects if Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3 Kinase)/Akt Pathway Activation in Mouse Ovary Using Conditional Deletion of Tumor Suppressor Gene PTEN
- Ronald Buckanovich, MD, PhD, University of Michigan Identification and Validation of Clinically Relevant Targets in Ovarian Tumore Vasculature
2003 Grant Recipients
- Lin Zhang, MD, University of Pennsylvania Transgenic Approaches to Study Ovarian Cancer Prevention
- Susan K. Murphy, PhD, Duke University Medical Center How Chemical Alterations to the DNA-but not its Sequence-May Play a Role in Ovarian Cancer
- Douglas A. Levine, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Novel Approaches to the Androgen Pathway and Genetic Predisposition to Ovarian Cancer
- Denise C. Connolly, PhD, Mayo Clinic How Cell Shape Changes Lea to Metastasis in Ovarian Cancer
2002 Grant Recipients
- Jonathan Lancaster, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute Defining Genetic Pathways that Underlie Ovarian Carcinogenesis Using Microarray Expressoin Analysis
- David E. Cohn, MD, Ohio State University Targeting Tumor Blood Vessel Growth Factors with Antibodies as a New Ovarian Cancer Treatment
2001 Grant Recipients
- Rebecca Liu, MD, University of Michigan Dysfunctional Apoptosome Activation in Ovarian Cancer: Implications for Pathogenesis, Prognosis, and Chemoresistance
- Kimberly Kalli, PhD, Mayo Clinic Functional Significance of Insulin Receptors in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Therapeutic Implications
- Christina Bandera, MD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute The Molecular Basis of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer and Primary Peritoneal Cancer
2000 Grant Recipients
- Karen H. Lu, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center Understanding the Molecular Differences in Histologic Grades of Ovarian Cancer: Implications for Discovering New Prognostic Markers
- Christos Patriotis, PhD, Fox Chase Cancer Center Molecular Genetic Mechanisms of Ovarian Oncogenesis
- Robin Farias-Eisner, MD, PhD, UCLA School of Medicine O-glycosylation: a Molecular Mechanism for Transciptional Regulation, Cellular Transformation and Nitric Oxide (NO) Mediated Tumoricidal Activity