Epithelial ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer associated death in woman in the United States. Current therapies offer the promise of a longer and better life for most women with this disease yet few are ultimately cured. This application seeks support for Dr. Michael Seiden, Chairman of the Gynecologic Oncology Research Committee of the Dana Farber Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC). Dr. Seiden's long-term career goal is to build a patient-orient translational research program with a focus on the application of novel therapies to women with ovarian cancer. This program includes a high quality clinical research effort and a collateral study of patient material obtained on study or through a linked tumor bank. The other cornerstones of the program also includes mentoring, molecular imaging, and linked laboratory based drug resistance research. Integral to the program is the development of fellows and junior faculty into well trained thought leaders in the field who will then become independent investigators and eventually mentors for their own fellows and junior faculty. The timing of this application coincides with the identification of several junior, yet talented, mentees coupled with a growing translational research effort in ovarian cancer at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Dana Farber/ Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC). The research program has three major themes: namely; 1) the evaluation of novel therapeutics targeting the minimization or reversal of drug resistance; 2) the development of a novel molecular imaging program; and 3) the evaluation of molecular mechanisms of intrinsic or acquired drug resistance that may explain mechanisms of therapeutic failure. This grant describes a plan for mentoring and faculty development through the incorporation of mentees into a well supported research program, a structured didactic program, and a rigorous mentoring plan. The P.l.'s dual role as a clinical research director and laboratory P.I. provides fertile opportunity for translation between the clinic and the laboratory. ? ? ? ?
