Rhonda’s Award 2027: Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) Recipient of $100,000 Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Research Grant
Project led by Prof. Dr. Kirsten Kübler of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)Selected for a $100,000 Rhonda’s Award 2027 Grant
A project led by Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Kirsten Kübler, a gynecologic oncologist, together with co-Principal Investigators Dr. Francesca Tiso, a molecular biologist, and Dr. Eldar Abdullaev, a computational biologist, has been named as a recipient of Rhonda’s Award 2027. The grant funds innovative research in the field of Mucinous ovarian cancer.
The project, entitled “Defining Early Evolution of Primary Mucinous Ovarian Cancer for Risk Stratification,” is one of two selected by the Mucinous Ovarian Cancer Coalition (MOCC) for the 2027 funding cycle.
Can you describe your research project in a sentence or two so a layperson could understand it? We want to determine the cell type in which primary mucinous ovarian cancer starts and how the earliest steps of its development influence whether the tumor will behave aggressively or not. By characterizing such early changes before an invasive tumor has formed, we aim to identify biomarkers that could inform personalized clinical management.
What drew you to studying a rare disease like mucinous ovarian cancer? What drew us to primary mucinous ovarian cancer is that it still holds a biological mystery: we still don’t know which normal cell it starts from. Mucinous ovarian cancer cells look like the mucus-producing cells in the gastrointestinal tract, but such cells are not native to the ovaries or the fallopian tubes. Solving this mystery is not only scientifically fascinating but could also directly impact patients by guiding more precise clinical management.
What will this grant allow you to do that you couldn't do otherwise? With this grant, we will be able to analyze in much greater detail the different cell types and potential precursor lesions found in healthy ovaries and fallopian tubes. This will help us identify which normal cells could give rise to mucinous ovarian cancer and investigate whether different groups of tumors may originate through different developmental paths.
What's your hope for how this research changes outcomes for patients? With our research, we hope to identify the cell-of-origin of primary mucinous ovarian cancer and better understand the early steps through which a normal cell becomes cancerous. By doing so, we aim to identify biomarkers that could help distinguish higher-risk tumors at the time of diagnosis. Ultimately, we hope this will help physicians identify which patients may need more intensive treatment and which may not, bringing us closer to providing personalized care for patients with mucinous ovarian cancer. We congratulate Prof. Dr. Kirsten Kübler, Dr. Francesca Tiso, and Dr. Eldar Abdullaev and look forward to sharing their progress with you!
