FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shelley Laurell, President, Board of Directors
Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Email: Hope4MOC@gmail.com
Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Coalition Doubles Down on Hope with Record $200,000 in Research Funding
Research teams from Germany and the Netherlands selected for Rhonda’s Award 2027 to advance the fight against a rare form of ovarian cancer
LAMBERTVILLE, Mich., Sept. 17, 2026 — The Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Coalition (MOCC) today announced a record expansion of Rhonda's Award, its flagship research grant. In 2027, the all-volunteer nonprofit organization will fund two $100,000 research grants — double what it had originally planned.
This $200,000 investment marks the largest single-year commitment to mucinous ovarian cancer in the organization’s five-year history. It is also among the few research grants worldwide dedicated specifically to this rare disease.
“We received a greater number of promising proposals this year than ever before. Because of that, we decided to award two grants in 2027, instead of just one,” said Shelley Laurell, president of MOCC’s Board of Directors. “My sister would be so happy with the progress being made by our committed group of volunteers.”
The recipients of Rhonda’s Award 2027 are:
Defining Early Evolution of Primary Mucinous Ovarian Cancer for Risk Stratificationa project led byPrincipal Investigator Prof. Dr. Kirsten Kübler, together with together with co-Principal Investigators Dr. Francesca Tiso of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and Eldar Abdullaev from Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics.
MOC-STAR (Mucineus Ovarium Carcinoom – Synergistic Targeted Avuto/Defactinib Regimen) project, led by Professor Dr. Christianne Lok, a gynecologic oncologist, and Dr. Frans Opdam, a medical oncologist, from The Netherlands Cancer Institute.
Since its founding in 2020, MOCC has announced its Rhonda’s Award recipient on September 17th, the birthday of the organization’s late cofounder. Rhonda was diagnosed with mucinous ovarian cancer in 2019 In helping to launch MOCC, she was dedicated to ensuring women could find better treatment options than she had and to improving the quality of life for those diagnosed with this rare disease.
Past recipients have included researchers from leading institutions such as MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and The Gorringe Lab at the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology at the University of Melbourne.
Mucinous ovarian cancer is a rare subtype of ovarian cancer that tends to develop in women at younger ages than more common forms of the disease. Prior to the launch of MOCC, mucinous ovarian cancer historically received only a fraction of the research investment directed toward other cancers. By expanding to two awards, MOCC is signaling its commitment to accelerating the search for better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
About the Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Coalition
MOCC is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2020 in honor of Rhonda. The organization is dedicated to funding research and providing support for women affected by mucinous ovarian cancer, a rare and understudied form of the disease.
Through Rhonda’s Award, MOCC Cares packages, and patient support programs, MOCC is working toward a future where no woman faces this diagnosis without hope. Learn more at hope4moc.org.
