The Ovarian Cancer Institute is a non-profit organization funding research dedicated to the discovery of a diagnostic test for early-stage ovarian cancer, and to the investigation of better modalities of treatment. Our laboratory is located at the Georgia Institute of Technology and is directed by Dr. Jeff Skolnick. Our extraordinary group of researchers have produced groundbreaking work and over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Ovarian cancer has no early warning signs, and is almost always diagnosed in advanced stages, requiring lengthy and complex surgery, and extremely toxic chemotherapy. There is no way to screen for this cancer. Symptoms are vague and misleading; the pap smear is utterly useless. The cure rate for stage one ovarian cancer exceeds 90%, as opposed to less than 20% in an advanced stage. Therefore, a highly accurate diagnostic test is desperately needed! OUR LABORATORY HAS DISCOVERED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR EARLY-STAGE OVARIAN CANCER THAT IS 100% SENSITIVE AND SPECIFIC

In addition to the diagnostic test, the lab is working on a machine-learning algorithm to predict optimal chemotherapy drugs for an individual patient’s cancer. Another project involves the use of small-molecule RNA as a vector to deliver chemotherapy directly to the cancer cell, vastly improving effectiveness, while lowering or eliminating the horrible problems associated with systemic chemotherapy. A more detailed description of this work is contained in the attachment.

These final projects will impact all cancers, and not just ovarian cancer.