2022 Fall/Winter Highlights of Hope

‘Cellular barcodes’ could provide
crucial insights into ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer has long been thought
of as one disease. Thanks to research
breakthroughs, we now know that there are
many subtypes, each with their own distinct
characteristics that impact their response
to treatment.
To better understand these differences,
Van Andel Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Ben Johnson is pursuing a groundbreaking
strategy — adding “barcodes” to ovarian
cancer cells to study how these cancers
start, recur and resist treatment.
Dr. Johnson, who works in the lab of VAI
Associate Professor Dr. Hui Shen, also uses
other computational techniques to
better understand ovarian cancers and
how we might be able to treat them
more effectively.
His innovative approach earned him a
prestigious Mentored Investigator Grant
from Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance,
an achievement that supports his work
and underscores the importance of
his research.
“We hope to understand how and why
certain precursor cells can ‘decide’ to either
make more of themselves or produce the
cell types that make up an ovarian cancer
tumor,” Dr. Johnson said. “The answer to
this mystery may reveal targets that we
can ultimately develop treatments against,
leading to better patient outcomes.”
Research reported in this publication is
supported by Ovarian Cancer Research
Alliance [Mentored Investigator Grant,
no. 891749]. The content is solely the
responsibility of the authors and does not
necessarily represent the official views of
Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance.
Read more at bit.ly/johnson-ocra.
In 2022, nearly
20,000 women will
be diagnosed with
ovarian cancer. It
is the fifth leading
cause of cancer
death in women. 1
SOURCES
1
American Cancer Society. 2022. Key statistics for ovarian cancer.
cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer/about/key-statistics.html
VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE HIGHLIGHTS OF HOPE | 3