Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Ovarian cancer is one of the deadliest cancers women face, with less than 40% surviving the disease. We need new methods to prevent ovarian cancer, and new screening methods to detect it in its early treatable stages. Very little is known about how ovarian cancer occurs, but there are hints that have led us on our current research path. These hints have come from our research on the two biggest ovarian cancer risk factors: ovulation and the Brca1 gene. We know that the risk of ovarian cancer increases proportionally with the number of ovulations. Every time a woman ovulates, the egg causes a small amount of damage to the ovary that the body then repairs. The repair process is dangerous since it is a time when cells are more at risk to becoming cancerous. The other well established risk factor is an inactive Brca1 gene. The Brca1 gene is involved in the cell's safety measures that help prevent cancer. Interestingly, the Brca1 gene is inactive in the majority of ovarian cancers hinting that this gene plays a large role in causing this disease. The safety measures put in place by the Brca1 gene are particularly important during the repair process that occurs in the ovary after ovulation. Our research investigates the link between ovulation and the Brca1 gene, which has never been studied before. We have evidence for the first time that the two biggest risk factors, increased ovulation and inactive Brca1 might be related. We think that ovulation might cause inactivation of Brca1 thereby removing the cells safeguard against cancer. This project aims to study the molecular basis of how ovulation inactivates Brca1 and why this leads to ovarian cancer. This project has great potential to finally understand why ovulation and inactive Brca1 are risk factors. We are very optimistic that this research will improve our understanding of ovarian cancer and lead to new therapeutic interventions to prevent ovarian cancer and detect it while it is still treatable.