Using a phospho-proteomic strategy to identify druggable targets in high grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Dr. Marion Butler and Dr. Paul Dowling

Dr. Marion Butler and Dr. Paul Dowling, working at Maynooth University, have been awarded with IRC New Foundations Grant in partnership with Breakthrough Cancer Research.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynaecological malignancy, with ~300,000 women diagnosed each year worldwide and approximately 400 women in Ireland.  Ovarian cancer is the 4th most common female cancer in Ireland and almost 300 women lose their lives each year. Targeted therapies are not available.

We plan to use a proteomic strategy to identify proteins that show abnormal levels or activity in tumours from Ovarian Cancer patients compared to normal ovarian tissue. Following this, we plan to measure the levels of a few of these proteins of interest in a large number of ovarian cancer tumours. This may help us identify new proteins or pathways of interest that show abnormal levels in tumours, giving us a better insight into the biology of the disease, and potentially opens up new research focus points for Ovarian cancer.