The Canadian Conference on Ovarian Cancer Research (CCOCR) is a bi-annual conference where ovarian cancer researchers exchange knowledge and further connections.
Meet the speakers
Livnat Jerby is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University, a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator, and a Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator. Her research integrates latest advances in genetic editing, single cell and spatial genomics to identify new immunomodulating mechanisms and interventions. Recent work from her lab provides an unprecedented view of the cancerimmune interplay directly in patients and her team is now developing new cell engineering technologies to track and trigger targeted immune responses with spatial, temporal, and cellular specificity.
Prior to joining Stanford, Livnat was a postdoctoral fellow in Aviv Regev’s lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she used single cell genomics to identify regulators of T cell exclusion and resistance to immune checkpoint blockade. Livnat holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Biology and obtained her PhD in 2016 from Tel Aviv University, where she worked with Eytan Ruppin, studying genetic interactions in cancer.
Her research has been generously supported by the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF), Schmidt Family Foundation, Rothschild Foundation, Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA), Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institute of Health (NIH), and Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Initiative.
Assistant professor since September 2021, Marilyne Labrie leads a research program that aims at developing personalized therapeutic approaches in ovarian cancers. Her research vision is to employ a longitudinal approach that integrates multi-omics data, with an emphasis on proteomics technologies, to investigate the molecular mechanisms driving ovarian cancer progression and resistance to therapy. Her team has been involved in research projects revolving around two main themes: (1) identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in ovarian cancer brain metastases and (2) studying mechanisms of adaptive resistances to anticancer therapies. Together, these data-driven research programs will uncover novel personalized cancer treatment strategies for ovarian cancer patients and could be extended to more diseases.
Dr. Helen MacKay is a Medical Oncologist and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is Head of the Division of Medical Oncology and Malignant Hematology at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Senior Scientist at the Sunnybrook Research Institute. Her research involves collaborating with translational and basic scientists in the development and validation of novel therapeutic strategies. She is the former President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada (GOC). She co-chairs the National Cancer Institute (NCI), US, Ovarian Cancer Task Force. Dr. Mackay was also appointed to the NCTN Core Correlative Sciences Committee of the NCI (US) in June 2022. She is the past chair of the Ovarian Group and sits on the executive of the Gyne committee of the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG), and represents CCTG at the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup. She is a past chair of both the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Scientific Committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Usha Menon is Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, UK. She is a clinical trialist with a focus on early detection of ovarian cancer. Her research includes the largest general population (UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening) and high-risk (UK Familial Ovarian Cancer Screening Study) ovarian cancer screening trials to date that are the evidence base of current guidelines. large cohort studies exploring genetic and epidemiological risk factors (UK Ovarian Cancer Population Study), symptoms and intervals to diagnosis of cancer (International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership Module 4) and surgical morbidity (UK Gynaecological Oncology Surgical Outcomes and Complications Study). The trial biobanks with over half a million samples including unique longitudinal sets preceding cancer diagnosis and long-term follow-up, support numerous academic and industry research collaborations exploring novel early detection biomarkers and natural history of cancer.
Dr. Kathleen Moore is currently a Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Oklahoma. She is the Associate Director for Clinical Research and the Director of the Phase I Drug Development Unit at the Stephenson Cancer Center at the University of Oklahoma. She also serves as the medical director for infusion services and is a recent director of the gynecologic oncology fellowship.
She received her MD from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2000 with high honors. She completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Magee Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA in 2004 and went on to complete her fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Oklahoma in 2007. She has been on faculty at the University of Oklahoma since 2007.
Nationally she serves as the NRG Chair for Ovarian Cancer, Associate Director for GOG-Partners and serves on the GOG Foundation Board of Directors. Her interests include drug development and clinical trialist mentorship in gynecologic cancers. She has served as PI for phase I, II and III trials including several with registration intent. These include the randomized phase 3 study of olaparib maintenance following response to front line platinum based chemotherapy in patients with BRCAmut ovarian cancer (SOLO-1), the randomized phase 3 trial of mirvetuximab for treatment of platinum resistant, FRα high ovarian cancer (MIRASOL) and the randomized phase 3 trial of atezolizumab incorporated into front line, bevaciziumab containing platinum based therapy for ovarian cancer (IMagyn050).
She has authored over 400 manuscripts, speaks nationally and internationally about gynecologic cancers and has authored many book chapters and educational content. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband Jeff, 7 dogs, 1 cat and many fish.
Mark Nachtigal is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biochemistry & Medical Genetics, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and a Senior Scientist in the CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute. He received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. (Molecular Endocrinology) degrees from the University of Manitoba and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California San Francisco, Reproductive Endocrinology Centre. Throughout his graduate and post-graduate training his research projects retained a link to human reproductive cancer biology. In 1998 Dr. Nachtigal was recruited to Dalhousie University as theRossetti Scholar for Cancer Research to study human epithelial ovarian cancer. Dr. Nachtigal returned to Manitoba in 2010 to continue his research on human ovarian cancer. His first contributions in Manitoba were the establishment of the Manitoba Ovarian Biobank Program in collaboration with the Manitoba Tumor Bank, and establishing the Manitoba Ovarian Cancer Outcomes (MOCO) study group in partnership with Gynecologic Oncology and Population Oncology. Further collaborations led to the Manitoba Ovarian Cancer Research (MOCR) Program that encompasses researchers from preclinical, translational, clinical and health outcomes disciplines. His preclinical and translational research has established methods for culturing primary human ovarian cancer cells, identified novel autocrine signaling pathways that maintain cancer cell plasticity, developing new genetic models of early changes leading to high grade serous ovarian cancer, and testing novel therapeutics in ovarian cancer models.
Dr. Oza has been PI and co-investigator in >150 phase I, II and III trials for gynecological cancer and advanced colorectal malignancies. He is the past-chair of the the International Gynecologic Cancer InterGroup (GCIG), Chair of the GCIG Scientific Committee, Co-Chair of the Clinical Research Executive at UHN, and past co-hair of the National Cancer Institute Gynecologic Caner Steering Committee. Under his direction, the gynecology group is one of the largest ovarian cancer (OC) clinical trials groups consistently accruing >30% of all patients seen onto clinical trials (>200/yr) at PM. The group has participated or led seminal studies in gynecologic cancers that have led to the approval or use of targeted agents such as PARP inhibitors (olaparib, niraparib) and anti-angiogenic agents (bevacizumab) internationally. Over the last decade he has been PI/co-PI of 19 grants from agencies such as the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, and the US Department of Defense. Over his career he has published >315 articles (all types) including Clinical Cancer Research (IF=10), JAMA Oncology (IF=20), New England Journal of Medicine (IF=79), Lancet Oncology (IF=36) and an invited seminar to CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians (IF=244).
