Developmental Research Program

The purpose of the MD Anderson Ovarian SPORE Developmental Research Program is to encourage and develop research projects that will lead to clinically testable hypotheses that will reduce ovarian cancer incidence and mortality or improve survival and quality of life. There will be two awardees each year at $50,000 per project. The objectives of the Developmental Research Program are to:

• Publicize the availability of start-up funding for pilot projects in ovarian cancer translational research.
• Identify projects that are innovative and have significant potential for reducing ovarian cancer incidence and mortality or for improving survival and quality of life.
• Encourage collaborations among scientists within the SPORE and with scientists outside the SPORE environment.
  
• Help potential pilot project investigators to define and articulate translational research goals and the steps required to beneficially translate research into application in humans.
• Select competing research proposals for funding using internal and external reviewers applying specific criteria.
• Provide developmental funding for investigators in the SPORE institution and scientists at other selected sites.
• Closely monitor and work with the Developmental Project investigators to assist them in achieving their translational research goals.
  
• Administer a flexible program in which pilot projects that demonstrate promise follow one of three courses: a) They will be funded for another year, possibly with additional support if particularly promising; b) They will be elevated to full SPORE projects; or c) Investigators will be encouraged to apply for an R01 or other peer-reviewed research support. Developmental projects that do not reach their potential will be terminated.
  

From the last Ovarian SPORE cycle, 2010 – 2015, three recipients of developmental funding have become co-PIs of a full SPORE project. Overall, the SPORE has funded 15 of 47 proposals submitted, and these have resulted in 58 published peer-reviewed papers.

Please direct questions to Ersulan Hampton at 713-563-0639 or via email at ehampton@mdanderson.org.

Developmental Research Awards

2021–2022

• Min Soon Cho, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Pulmonary Medicine
  Research mechanism of platelet-induced immunosuppression in ovarian cancer
• Samuel Mok, Ph.D.
  Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  Research IFITM3: The key to modulate survival rates in patients with BRCA-deficient ovarian cancer

2020–2021

• Wa Xian, Ph.D.
  Research Associate Professor, Biology and Biochemistry – University of Houston
  Sensitizing Resistant Cancer Stem Cells to Paclitaxel in Treatment-Naïve HGSOC

2018–2020

• Izabela Fokt, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  Selective IL-13RA2 Targeting Therapy for Ovarian Cancer: The “Nuclear Punch” Approach

2018–2019

• Mark S. Kim, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  Rational targeting of metabolism in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Steven Millward, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Cancer Systems Imaging
  Directed Evolution of Selective Autophagy Inhibitors for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

2017-2018

• Chun Li, Ph.D.
  Professor, Cancer Systems Imaging
  Image-guided EphB4 agonist-based nanotherapy for treatment of high-grade ovarian cancer
  
  
• Amir Jazaeri, M.D.
  Associate Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  A pilot investigation of the ability of liquid biopsies to predict residual disease at second look surgery in ovarian cancer

2014-2015

• Zhen Lu, M.D.
  Associate Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  
  
• Yunfei Wen, Ph.D.
  Instructor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine Research
  Eliminating Dormant Ovarian Cancer Cells by Targeting Canonical and Non-Canonical Autophagy
  
  
• Giulio Draetta, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor, Molecular and Cellular Oncology
  In Vivo Selection for Novel Co-Extinction Targets to Enhance the Activity of PARP Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Leonard Lichtenberger, Ph.D.
  Professor, Integrative Biology & Pharmacology, UTHSC at Houston
  Use of Aspirin-PC alone and in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to treat ovarian cancer

2013-2014

• Xiongbin Lu, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor, Cancer Biology
  Role of the RNA-binding protein DDX1 in miR-200 biogenesis and ovarian cancer
  
  
• Bulent Ozpolat, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  The role and potential therapeutic of HTR1B in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Samuel Mok, Ph.D.
  Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  
  
• Karen Lu, M.D.
  Professor and Chair, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  Targeting a novel adipokine omentum in ovarian cancer treatment

2012-2013

• Samuel Mok, Ph.D.
  Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  Targeting novel stromal-derived angiogenic factor in ovarian cancer treatment
  
  
• Jae-Il Park, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Experimental Radiation Oncology
  Reverse cell reprogramming in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Ann Klopp, M.D.
  Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology
  Visceral adipose-derived stem cells: mediator of poor outcome in centrally-obese patients with ovarian cancer

2011-2012

• Shannon Hawkins, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Mechanism of ARID1A in endometriosis-associated ovarian cancers
  
  
• Randy Johnson, Ph.D.
  Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  Development and analysis of a novel Hippo signaling-based mouse model for ovarian cancer
  
  
• Waldemar Priebe, Ph.D.
  Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  Concerted blockade of the STAT3/STAT5/HIF-1α oncogenic network: a unique novel approach to treatment of carboplatin-resistant ovarian cancer

2010-2011

• Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor, Pediatrics
  T-cell therapy for ovarian cancer, Part 2
  
  
• Michael Frumovitz, Ph.D.
  Associate Professor, Gynecologic Oncology & Reproductive Medicine
  Improving outcomes in patients with advanced mucinous ovarian cancer using a novel src family kinase inhibitor (KX2-391)
  
  
• JoAnne Richards, Ph.D.
  Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Effects of hormones on ovarian surface epithelial cells

2009-2010

• John Weinstein, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor and Chair, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
  L-Asparaginase for possible treatment of ovarian cancer: A systems-level pharmacomic strategy
  
  
• Sam Mok, Ph.D.
  Professor, Gynecologic Oncology
  Targeting FGF signaling pathway in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D.
  Grant Taylor, W. W. Sutow and Margaret Sullivan Distinguished Professor in Pediatrics
  T-cell therapy for ovarian cancer

2008-2009

• Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D.
  Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  Engineering a downstream therapeutic impact on the JNK-axis in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Hirohito Yamaguchi, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Molecular & Cellular Oncology
  Development of effective combination therapy for ovarian cancer using AKT, MEK and MDM2 inhibitors
  
  
• George Calin, M.D., Ph.D.
  Associate Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  Small molecules targeting oncogenic microRNAs as a new therapeutic approach in ovarian cancer

2007-2008

• James A. Bankson, Ph.D.
  Assistant Professor, Imaging Physics
  Novel in-vivo imaging of tumor vascular structure and function in preclinical models of ovarian cancer
  
  
• Yiling Lu, M.D.
  Associate Professor, Systems Biology
  Identification of therapeutic targets interacting with autophagy in ovarian cancer
  
  
• Waldemar Priebe, Ph.D.
  Professor, Experimental Therapeutics
  Targeting Jak2-STAT3 signaling in ovarian cancer (OC) with novel small molecule inhibitors

2006-2007

• Feng Wang-Johanning, M.D., Ph.D.
  Evaluation of Human Endogenous Retrovirus Envelope Proteins as Tumor-Associated Antigens for Immunotherapy Against Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• William Bornmann, Ph.D.
  Therapeutic Targeting with Novel Src Inhibitors in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Siqing Fu, M.D., Ph.D.
  The Feasibility Study of a Surrogate Marker for Aurora Kinase Inhibition in Order to Develop Optimal Therapeutic Regimens Using Aurora Kinase Inhibitor AE 465 as a Chemosensitizer to Enhance Anti-Tumor Activity of Carboplatin for Ovarian Cancer Treatment

2005-2006

• Warren Liao, Ph.D.
  Evaluation of a Novel Stat3 Inhibitor for Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Zhi-Xiang Xu, Ph.D.
  Targeting Lipid Raft-Mediated LPA Signaling by Avicins in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Yong Liao, Ph.D.
  The Role of Wip1 in the Development of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Siqing Fu, M.D., Ph.D.
  A Preclinical Study to Reverse Platinum Resistance in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer by Use of an Aurora Kinase Inhibitor

2003-2004

• Warren Liao, Ph.D.
  Role of Protein Kinase MEKK3 in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• William Brinkley, Ph.D.
  Aurora Kinase Overexpression in Ovarian Cancer Progression
  
  
• Charles Craik, Ph.D.
  Developing Protease Specific Antibodies for Ovarian Cancer

2002-2003

• Roger Price, Ph.D., DVM
  Magnetic Resonance Imaging of a Mouse Model of Human Ovarian Carcinoma
  
  
• Claudio Aldaz, M.D.
  WWOX, the FRA16D cancer gene, as a Prognostic Indicator for Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Xianjun Fang, Ph.D.
  Growth-related Oncogene (GRO) in Ovarian Cancer

2001-2002

• David Gershenson, M.D.
  Feasibility of Measuring Gene Expression Patterns Using Tissue
  
  
• Renata Pasqualini, Ph.D.
  Identification of Tumor Markers in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Xianjun Fang, Ph.D.
  Role of Lysophosphatidic Acid in Neovascularization in Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Qingyi Wei, M.D., Ph.D.
  Methylation Expression of DNA Repair Genes in Ovarian Cancer

2000-2001

• Richard Behringer, Ph.D.
  Knockout Ovca1 and Ovca2
  
  
• Judith Wolf, M.D.
  Ovarian Cancer Specific Gene Therapy

1999-2000

• Karen Basen-Engquist, Ph.D.
  Evaluating Fatigue and other Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer Patients with Ecological Momentary Assessment
  
  
• Zhen Fan, M.D.
  PKB/Akt-Targeted Molecular Modulation of Chemotherapy for Ovarian Cancer
  
  
• Francois Claret, Ph.D.
  Novel Marker for Drug Resistance and New Target for Therapeutic
  
  
• Sharon Roth, Ph.D.
  Role of the GCN5 HAT in Estrogen Response and Tumor Suppression