U.S. DOD funds study to explore relationship of obesity and development of ovarian cancer
| June 25, 2012 | |
Dr. Liza Makowski
Liza Makowski, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition at UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, has received a two-year, $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study “Preclinical and Clinical Investigations of the Impact of Obesity on Ovarian Cancer Pathogenesis.” The study, which begins in September, will use animal models and patient samples to investigate whether metabolic and endocrine effects of obesity contribute to the development of ovarian cancer, leading to biologically distinct cancers from those that occur in leaner women.
“We think that ovarian tumors in obese people are metabolically different from ovarian tumors in lean people,” said Makowski. “That could necessitate distinct treatments.”
Makowski’s co-principal investigator on the project is Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, in the UNC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Linda Kastleman, communications editor, (919) 966-8317 or linda_kastleman@unc.edu.
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