Previous Award Winners

Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation raises money each year with walkathons, golf outings, and other events to assist researchers in learning more about ovarian cancer and new kinds of treatment. Grants and awards are given at the annual Spring Gala.

We are proud to announce award winners for 2011:

Dr. Andrea McCollum

PRAT Research Fellow
Medical Oncology Branch
Molecular Signaling Section
National Cancer Institute
 

Dr. Andrea K. McCollum is a senior postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Elise Kohn at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. McCollum is a graduate of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine where she completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics under the mentorship of Drs. Charles Erlichman and Scott Kaufmann. Her thesis work identified a novel mechanism of resistance to inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90), which are currently being tested for antitumor activity in clinical trials. She then came to the National Cancer Institute as a postdoctoral fellow to pursue translational studies focusing on novel prognostic biomarkers and molecular targets for ovarian cancer therapeutics. At NCI, Dr. McCollum has mentored several graduate, postbaccalaureate and summer students, and has been chosen as an instructor for the NIH Summer Student Enrichment Program. Her passion for research has been recognized through her selection for the 2007 Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship for Women in Cancer Research and, in 2009, the prestigious Pharmacology Research Associate Training (PRAT) Fellowship from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. She currently serves as a postdoctoral liaison to the Women Scientist Advisors of NIH, and was the 2011 host for the National Postdoctoral Association Annual Meeting. Dr. McCollum’s future plans include establishing an independent research program that will contribute to the development and refinement of innovative therapies for ovarian cancer patients.

 

We are proud to announce award winners for 2010:

Young Investigator Awards

Lacey R. McNally, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow Department of Radiation Oncology
University of Alabama Birmingham

Treatment of Ovarian Cancer with KiSS1 Metastasis Suppressor
Treating ovarian cancer metastasis is critical because of the high frequency nature in which it spreads. The KiSS1 gene, a metastasis suppressor, greatly reduces metastatic ovarian cancer. Ms. McNally and her fellow researchers believe that treating existing tumors with KiSS1 will prevent metastatic growth and, when given in combination with chemotherapy, will result in increased survival.

KOH Board Member, Dee Sparacio, presents the Young Investigator Award to Lacey R. McNally, PhD.


Sarah Adams, MD
Assistant Professor
Ovarian Cancer Research Center
University of Pennsylvania

Characterization of the Enhanced Anti-Tumor Activity of Doxil in Women with Hereditary Ovarian Cancer
This research is designed to determine whether women with hereditary ovarian cancer exhibit markedly improved responses to Doxil chemotherapy because of enhanced anti-tumor response. If this project is successful, it would support testing women for BRCA mutations to better select chemotherapeutic or immunotherapeutic protocols for disease management.



KOH Board Member, Carole Fagella presents the Young Investigator Award to Sarah Adams, MD.

The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF) / Kaleidoscope of Hope Research Grant for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
GCF is the foundation of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists whose mission is to ensure public awareness of gynecologic cancer prevention, early diagnosis and optimal treatment. In addition, the Foundation supports research and training related to gynecologic cancers. GCF advances this mission by increasing public and private funds that aid in the development and implementation of programs to meet these goals.

Applications for the GCF 2010-2011 award will be accepted later this year.

Founders’ Award
The Kaleidoscope of Hope Foundation Founders’ Award is given each year to the group or organization that best embraces the cause of fighting ovarian cancer or exhibits the commitment to find a cure.

This year’s Founders’ Award winners are the Jersey Shore Girls: Janice Carey, Mariclaire Scott, and Kathy Lynch. The Jersey Shore Girls contacted KOH in 2007 to spearhead a walkathon in Avon-by-the-Sea to honor their dear friend, Valerie O’Rourke Foley, who, earlier that year, lost her battle with ovarian cancer. With just a few months to plan, the girls held their first walk on September 29, 2007, with more than 600 walkers. They raised $62,000.



KOH Executive Director, Lois Myers, presents the Founders' Award to the Jersey Shore Girls: Janice Carey, Mariclaire Scott, and Kathy Lynch.