January 21, 2026
The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research (Tina’s Wish) has awarded a Team Science Grant to Andrew Godwin, PhD, deputy director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, and Steven Soper, PhD, Foundation Distinguished Professor in the departments of Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kansas. The $500,000, two‑year award marks the team’s fourth renewal from the foundation, which first funded the project in 2019.
The team is working to develop a blood‑based screening test capable of detecting high‑grade serous ovarian cancer at its earliest stages, when it is most effective. Also contributing to the project are cancer center members Rebecca Whelan, PhD, associate professor of Chemistry, and Carlo Barnaba, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, at the University of Kansas, and Harsh Pathak, PhD, research associate professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, the five‑year survival rate is just 32% when the disease is found after it has spread. When detected early, survival rates can exceed 90%, but only about 20% of cases are diagnosed that soon. The lack of a reliable screening test remains a major challenge.
Cancer center researchers have spent more than a decade developing micro‑ and nanoscale technologies that support precision medicine, including tools that analyze biomarkers from blood in a process known as liquid biopsy. These devices, often no larger than a credit card, are made from low‑cost plastics, allowing for fast, affordable testing that can reach patients in both urban and rural communities.
The project supported by Tina’s Wish focuses on extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny particles released by cells into the bloodstream. Tumor cells release EVs with unique molecular signatures, making them a promising source of information for early cancer detection. The team has identified ovarian cancer–specific markers found on these vesicles and has developed a device that can isolate ovarian cancer-associated EVs from blood samples. Once isolated, the vesicles’ RNA contents are analyzed using an advanced CRISPR‑Cas13 technology.
This grant will allow the researchers to refine their biomarker panel, strengthen the chemistry used to capture disease‑associated EVs and continue building an integrated platform that could one day serve as a practical screening tool.
“We are deeply grateful to Tina’s Wish for their continued confidence in our team and in the promise of this work,” said Dr. Godwin, principal investigator. “Early detection is the single most powerful tool we have against ovarian cancer, yet it remains out of reach for too many women. By combining our lineage‑specific biomarkers with advanced microfluidic and CRISPR‑based technologies, we’re building a blood test designed to find this disease at its earliest, most treatable stages.”