Austin Arrigo, PhD

2026 Mentored Investigator Grant

Magee-Womens Research Institute

Project Summary
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common and deadly gynecological cancers diagnosed in women. One major cause for the poor patient outcome is a small cell population known as quiescent cells. Quiescent cells are a unique population that are able to stop growing to survive against standard cancer treatment. These quiescent cells are then able to restart cell growth, promoting new tumor formation, ultimately leading to poor patient survival. Our proposal is focused on finding an Achillies heel to this quiescent population, to prevent them from initiating new tumor growth, in an effort to extend patient survival.

Bio
Dr. Austin Arrigo is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at the University of Pittsburgh, working in Magee Womens Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Ronald Buckanovich. Dr. Arrigo’s research interests are focused on identifying novel mechanisms of quiescence induction in High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer, to discover critical targets for novel therapeutic interventions. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in New Wilmington Pennsylvania in 2018. He then pursued his Ph.D. under the mentorship of Dr. Hui-Wen Lo at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem North Carolina. During his graduate career, Dr. Arrigo elucidated novel mechanisms of the tumor suppressor TUCS2 and its role in inhibiting glioblastoma progression. In 2024, he joined the lab of Dr. Ronald Buckanovich as a Postdoctoral Associated to investigate the quiescent ovarian cancer population. Quiescent cells are a unique cell population that are able to reversibly exit, and reenter the cell cycle. Their ability to exit the cell cycle and sit in a resting “dormant” phase makes them highly resistant to chemotherapies. Additionally, their ability to re-enter the cell cycle, following chemotherapy, may seed for resistant tumor recurrence in patients. Therefore, identifying quiescent ovarian cancer specific targets may help in developing novel therapeutics to reduce ovarian cancer quiescent induction, chemoresistance and tumor recurrence. To that end, through the OCRA Mentored Investigators Grant, Dr. Arrigo will be investigating the role of VGF nerve growth factor and its role in quiescence induction, maintenance, and ovarian cancer chemoresistance. The goal of his project is to determine the importance of VGF in quiescent ovarian cancer, and test novel targeting therapeutics against VGF to reduce chemoresistance and improve overall treatment outcomes.