We are pleased to announce the recipients of the National Research Grant Round 2024.
Sonesavanh Larnkham
Read about Sonesavanh Larnkham, one of our grant recipients.
Sonesavanh Larnkham, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington
PhD Scholarship
Validating Novel Biomarker Candidates for Early Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in women. Although treatable in the early stages, women typically present with symptoms in the later stages of disease. Current diagnostic tools, at best, can confirm already suspected cases and monitor the effectiveness of treatments on the progression of disease, but are limited in their ability to screen for early-stage ovarian cancer.
My PhD research builds upon the exciting preliminary data produced by the Pitman group, which identified five potential biomarker candidates of early ovarian cancer using both a preclinical animal model and human specimens. This involves looking for these biomarker candidates in a large collection of samples collected from patients with ovarian cancer.