Associate Professor,
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology,
Division of Gynecologic Oncology
The Victor and Ruby Hansen Surface Endowed Professor in Ovarian Cancer Research
Cancer Research Facility 223
University of New Mexico
915 Camino de Salud NE
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Ovarian cancer is associated with a poor prognosis that hasn't changed significantly in several decades. Our lab is focused on tumor immunology and the development of novel treatment strategies for ovarian cancer. We recently demonstrated that PARP inhibition synergizes with CTLA4 immune checkpoint blockade in BRCA1 deficient ovarian cancer models. This work additionally identified cell-intrinsic mechanisms of therapeutic synergy, confirmed the induction of protective immune memory, and defined novel immunologic endpoints correlating with treatment efficacy and long-term survival. Based on the success of this regimen in preclinical models, we launched an investigator-initiated clinical trial in 2016: INST1419: A phase I/II study of the combination of olaparib and tremelimumab in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers with recurrent ovarian cancer, (NCT02571725, S. Adams, Principal Investigator). This trial was expanded to three additional NCI Cancer Centers in 2018 and completed enrollment in 2020. In 2019, a second trial was launched in collaboration with the NRG Ovarian Committee to test whether this combination is active in a larger cohort of patients and to isolate the contribution of the immune agent. NRG-GY021: A randomized phase II trial of olaparib + tremelimumab vs. olaparib in platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer (NCT04034927, National Study Chair: S. Adams). This study is one of the first NRG studies selected by CIMAC (Cancer Immune Monitoring Analysis Centers – one of the Cancer Moonshot initiatives) to perform concurrent comprehensive integrated translational analyses. The translation of our work to clinical testing has spurred ongoing mechanistic studies in the lab focused on understanding tumor-tumor microenvironment interactions that modulate the efficacy of tumor-directed agents.
Jaryse Harris. Jaryse is a medical student and joined the lab as a research technician in 2013. She has extensive experience using mouse models to conduct in vivo experiments. She started medical school in 2016 but has continued to come back the lab and is currently investigating how dosing schedules impact the efficacy of combined PARP-inhibition and immune checkpoint blockade.
Daniel Falcon, PhD. Daniel is a postdoctoral fellow in the Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award – Academic Science Education & Research Training (IRACDA-ASERT) program. Daniel has expertise in immunoregulatory pathways and autoimmunity. He is spearheading work investigating how regulatory T cell subsets determine response to immune therapy regimens, and how this is modulated by conditions in the tumor microenvironment.
Chelsea Gregory-Goff, BA. Chelsea is a research technician with extensive experience in the use of murine models for in vivo studies. She joined the lab in 2019 and is the point-person for all mouse experiments as well as ongoing clinical protocols for the collection and use of patient samples.
The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance has supported our work since 2011. The mission of the OCFRA is to promote and support scientific research as it relates to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure for ovarian cancer; to provide education about ovarian cancer; and to foster alliances to further those purposes.
FORCE, Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered: The mission of FORCE is to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by hereditary breast, ovarian and related cancers.