Louise has received a 2024 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in partnership with Pelotonia & AACR. This initiative was set up to fund innovative research projects in breast and gynaecologic cancers and to support the next generation of female early-stage scientists globally. The funding will support Carmen Ramirez Moncayo, who recently completed her PhD in Louise’s lab and now works as a postdoctoral researcher, to continue her research into high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC), the most common type of ovarian cancer. 

The funding will allow Louise and Carmen to investigate the resistance of HGSOC to a class of drugs known as PARP inhibitors. These drugs have revolutionised the treatment landscape for multiple cancer types, including HGSOC. However, drug responses are variable from patient-to-patient and resistance often occurs with time. By using advanced techniques, such as a DNA editing technique called CRISPR, the team hopes to unravel whether differences in PARP inhibitor accumulation in tumours can contribute to drug resistance. This research may inform the development of personalised therapeutic approaches for PARP inhibitors in HGSOC, and potentially other types of cancer such as breast and prostate cancer. 

“It is a huge honour to receive the 2024 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in partnership with Pelotonia and AACR,” says Louise, “This recognition will increase visibility of the lab internationally and provide a springboard for our work in women’s cancers, particularly within the ovarian carcinoma space.”