(June 5, 2007) The Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA) announced May 31 that it has awarded $100,000 to Masonic Cancer Center researchers. MOCA awards grants for ovarian cancer research projects conducted in the state of Minnesota that support early diagnosis, better treatment, and a cure. The award recipients from the Masonic Cancer Center include:

Melissa Geller, M.D., member of the Masonic Cancer Center's Translational Research Program and assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, was awarded $25,000 through MOCA's Agency of Distinction-Eleven Who Care Research Grant Award. KARE-11 provided MOCA with the funds to offer the award. Gellar's grant project is "Phase II Study of 852A Administered Subcutaneously in Patients with Metastatic Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, Primary Peritoneal Carcinoma."

Amy Skubitz, Ph.D., member of the Masonic Cancer Center's Cancer Progression & Metastasis Research Program and associate professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, was given an Ovarian Cancer Research Award for $75,000. Her grant project is "Validation of potential biomarkers for ovarian cancer discovered by DIGE and iTraq."

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The Masonic Cancer Center is part of the University's Academic Health Center. It is a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. For more information about the Masonic Cancer Center, call the information line at 612-624-2620 or toll-free in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and the Dakotas at 1-888-CANCER MN (1-888-226-2376), or visit www.cancer.umn.edu.

Media contact: Mary Lawson, 612-624-6165, 612-203-0819 (cell), mlawson@umn.edu