Our Team Archive - Tina’s Wish
Tina’s Wish - Dedicated to the early detection of ovarian cancer.

Archives

USHA MENON, MD

USHA MENON, MD

Usha Menon, MD, is Professor of Gynecological Oncology and Lead, Training and Capacity Strengthening at the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at UCL (University College London) and honorary Consultant Gynecologist at UCLH NHS Foundation Trust in London. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UK.

Dr. Menon’s research focuses on the early detection and prevention of gynecologic malignancies, in particular ovarian cancer.

She was one of the principal investigators on the UK ovarian cancer screening trials and studies exploring symptoms of ovarian cancer. The latter includes the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening – a randomized control trial of over 202,000 women.

Additional research interests include genetic and environmental risk factors and novel biomarkers for ovarian cancers and early detection of other cancers.

Dr. Menon began her training at Christian Medical College, Vellore, India and received her MBBS and MD in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University of Madras, India. She continued her specialist training in UK and received her Certificate for Completion of Training (CCT) in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, UK and her research degree – MD(Res) – from UCL.

KAREN H. LU, MD

KAREN H. LU, MD

Karen H. Lu, MD, is Professor and Chair in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine and holds the J. Taylor Wharton Distinguished Chair in Gynecologic Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Her main clinical interests include the surgical and medical treatment of women with ovarian and endometrial cancers, as well as the management of women at genetically high risk for these cancers.

Dr. Lu serves as Co-Director for the MD Anderson Clinical Cancer Genetics Program and Director of the High-Risk Ovarian Cancer Screening Clinic. She is a national leader in the cancer genetics field and has published seminal articles on hereditary gynecologic cancers. She has led national studies in ovarian cancer early detection and prevention. In addition, she serves as Principal Investigator of the NCI-sponsored Uterine Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE).

Dr. Lu takes pride in having mentored many clinical fellows and trainees and has been awarded an MD Anderson Outstanding Educator Award. She has consistently been featured as one of America’s Top Doctors.

Dr. Lu received her MD from Yale University, and her MHCM and BA from Harvard University.

Andrew K. Godwin, PhD & Steven Soper, PhD

Andrew K. Godwin, PhD & Steven Soper, PhD

Project Title: “Liquid Biopsy using Tumor Specific Extracellular Vesicles for the Early Detection of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer”

Dr. Godwin is the Chancellors Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Sciences, Endowed Professor, and Director of Molecular Oncology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at The University of Kansas Medical Center. In the fall of 2019, Dr. Godwin was named the recipient of the Dolph Simons Award in the Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Soper is a Foundation Distinguished Professor at The University of Kansas and holds joint appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering.

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Chuan He, PhD & Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD

Chuan He, PhD & Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD

Project Title: “Epigenetic cell-free DNA biomarkers for ovarian cancer detection”

Dr. He is a chemical biologist and the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. Dr. Lengyel is an Arthur L. and Lee G. Herbst Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Chicago.

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Gottfried Konecny, MD & Victor Velculescu, MD, PhD

Gottfried Konecny, MD & Victor Velculescu, MD, PhD

Project Title: “Non-invasive liquid biopsy approach for early detection of ovarian cancer using cell free DNA fragmentation patterns”

Dr. Konecny is a Professor of Oncology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Director of Medical Gynecologic Oncology at UCLA. Dr. Velculescu is Co-Director of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics, and a Professor of Oncology and Pathology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.

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