MCI researchers receive funding from Norma Livingston Foundation to study ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Only about 20% of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, when ovarian cancer is more treatable.
By Carol McPhail
cmcphail@health.southalabama.edu
A research lab at the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute has been awarded $20,000 from the Norma Livingston Ovarian Cancer Foundation to continue its work to better understand and prevent ovarian cancer.
Jennifer Scalici, M.D., director of the Gynecologic Oncology Research Laboratory, said the funds will be used to further a research project involving hens that was conducted in collaboration with Auburn University. That project studied the effectiveness of a novel compound, developed at the MCI, for the prevention of ovarian cancer.
“Our lab identified what may be biomarkers of both disease and drug effect in the blood tests of hens,” said Scalici, a gynecologic oncologist and a professor of interdisciplinary clinical oncology. “Our hope is to explore this further by doing more testing of existing samples collected on that study and to set the stage for further collaboration with Auburn.”
Ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, according to the American Cancer Society, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Only about 20% of ovarian cancers are diagnosed at an early stage, when it is more treatable.
The Norma Livingston Foundation, based in Birmingham, aims to raise funds for ovarian cancer research, increase awareness about the risks, symptoms and treatment of the disease, and provide assistance to those undergoing treatment. The foundation was established in January 2004 by Lori Livingston, who lost her mother, Norma Livingston, to ovarian cancer.
“We are super excited and honored to receive funding from the Norma Livingston Foundation to continue our ovarian cancer prevention and early detection work,” Scalici said. “It’s really special when both the funding and the work are 100% local to the state of Alabama.”
Since joining the MCI in 2012, Scalici has focused her research on ovarian cancer carcinogenesis and chemoprevention, as well as the active DNA damage and repair mechanisms and the metabolic changes underlying gynecologic cancers. Scalici was named the recipient of the 2021 Mayer Mitchell Award for Excellence in Cancer Research, which includes a $10,000 award. Her work also has been supported by grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense.
Scalici earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University McGraw Medical Center in Chicago and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Va.
