Teal There's A Cure 5K Run/Walk
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Annual Maureen T. O'Hara
"Teal There's A Cure" 5K Run/Walk for Ovarian Cancer Awareness and Education In-Person Race at 8:00 a.m. on July 4th, 2023 Virtual Race July 1st - July 4th, 2023 Click Here to Register In the past 14 years we have raised over $461,000.
Since returning to our in-person event in 2022, we were able to donate $25,000 to Upstate Cancer Center, supporting the continued research by Dr. Juntao Luo: "Immune modulation nano gel for post-surgical inflammation control to reduce ovarian cancer metastasis and recurrence." Thank you to our sponsors.
Thank you to our business supporters. 
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Your Support Making A Difference
Recipient 2020
Due to the pandemic, 2020's race was cancelled; however, with the donations we received, we were still able to donate $10,000 to Upstate Medical University's ovarian cancer research program.
Due to the pandemic, 2020's race was cancelled; however, with the donations we received, we were still able to donate $10,000 to Upstate Medical University's ovarian cancer research program.
Recipient 2019
Thank you to all that participated in our 2019 Teal race. Because of your support, funds went to Upstate Medical University to continue collecting and culturing fresh human ovarian cancer tissue slices to measure the effects of different drugs, drug combinations and nanoformulations in treating the disease conducted by associate professor Juntao Luo, PhD, Pharmacology, and Rinki Agarwal, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist. We have contributed to this study in 2017, 2018 & 2019 with a total of $ 56,000. Funds also went to Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance to help fund Dr. David Chapel research study, “The Migratory Precursor and Serous Carcinogenesis."
Thank you to all that participated in our 2019 Teal race. Because of your support, funds went to Upstate Medical University to continue collecting and culturing fresh human ovarian cancer tissue slices to measure the effects of different drugs, drug combinations and nanoformulations in treating the disease conducted by associate professor Juntao Luo, PhD, Pharmacology, and Rinki Agarwal, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist. We have contributed to this study in 2017, 2018 & 2019 with a total of $ 56,000. Funds also went to Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance to help fund Dr. David Chapel research study, “The Migratory Precursor and Serous Carcinogenesis."
Recipient 2018
Thank you to all that participated in our 2018 Teal race. Because of your support the “The Teal There’s a Cure” committee awarded $25,000 to Upstate Medical University associate professor Juntao Luo, PhD, Pharmacology, and Rinki Agarwal, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist, who are collecting and culturing fresh human ovarian cancer tissue slices to measure the effects of different drugs, drug combinations and nanoformulations in treating the disease. This method avoids the false positive in drug discovery using cell line based disease models. This approach also provides a fast and clinically relevant model for drug screening and will offer valuable insight into clinical decision in prescribing sensitive chemo drugs for effective ovarian cancer treatment.
The 2018 award furthers Luo and Agarwal’s study started in 2017 to test novel nanotherapeutics in overcoming chemo-resistant ovarian cancer using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) ovarian cancer mouse models, funded by Teal There’s a Cure and the Christine Schoeck Blakely Ovarian Cancer Research Fund held at the Upstate Foundation.
Thank you to all that participated in our 2018 Teal race. Because of your support the “The Teal There’s a Cure” committee awarded $25,000 to Upstate Medical University associate professor Juntao Luo, PhD, Pharmacology, and Rinki Agarwal, MD, Gynecologic Oncologist, who are collecting and culturing fresh human ovarian cancer tissue slices to measure the effects of different drugs, drug combinations and nanoformulations in treating the disease. This method avoids the false positive in drug discovery using cell line based disease models. This approach also provides a fast and clinically relevant model for drug screening and will offer valuable insight into clinical decision in prescribing sensitive chemo drugs for effective ovarian cancer treatment.
The 2018 award furthers Luo and Agarwal’s study started in 2017 to test novel nanotherapeutics in overcoming chemo-resistant ovarian cancer using patient-derived xenograft (PDX) ovarian cancer mouse models, funded by Teal There’s a Cure and the Christine Schoeck Blakely Ovarian Cancer Research Fund held at the Upstate Foundation.
Recipient 2017
Thanks to your support, a donation was made to OCRFA toward a research project directed by Jagmohan Hooda, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, for "Loss of H2Bub1 Rewires Glutamine Metabolism During Progression of HGSOC" through OCRF’s Partners in Science. A donation was also made to Upstate Cancer Center toward a research project directed by Rinki Agarwal, MD and Juntao Luo, PhD, along with a donation to GRACE’S CNY Support Group for Women with Ovarian & Gynecologic Cancers.
Thanks to your support, a donation was made to OCRFA toward a research project directed by Jagmohan Hooda, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, for "Loss of H2Bub1 Rewires Glutamine Metabolism During Progression of HGSOC" through OCRF’s Partners in Science. A donation was also made to Upstate Cancer Center toward a research project directed by Rinki Agarwal, MD and Juntao Luo, PhD, along with a donation to GRACE’S CNY Support Group for Women with Ovarian & Gynecologic Cancers.
Recipient 2014, 2015, 2016
Combination Oncolytic Virotherapy/ACT for Ovarian Cancer Treatment
Progress Update
"Through research funded by the OCRF and Teal There’s a Cure, we are investigating strategies that combine oncolytic virotherapy (OV) and adoptive T cell transfer (ACT) for the treatment of metastatic ovarian cancer. ACT, a potent form of immunotherapy that harnesses the power of a patient’s own T cells to be instructed to seek out, recognize, and kill tumor cells, has shown promise in early clinical trials. However responses are often only temporary with eventual tumor relapse. Through the use of OV, a term given to viruses that can selectively infect and kill tumor cells, while also acting to promote inflammation within the tumor, we believe the benefit of ACT for cancer treatment can be further improved. Since receiving research funds in early 2015, we have made progress in a number of key areas that are helping to propel our research forward. Using a mouse model of aggressive metastatic ovarian cancer, we have identified that OV can be delivered in combination with ACT as a means of improving the effectiveness of tumor-recognizing T cells. When OV is delivered along with ACT, we have observed improved long-term survival of mice treated with this combination therapy compared to either OV or ACT treatment alone, with a subset of mice appearing to be completely cured by the OV + ACT combination. Our data suggests that the improved effectiveness of this treatment is due, at least in part, to the ability of OV to promote trafficking of tumor-specific T cells into tumors, a process which is required for tumor cell killing by T cells, but which is very inefficient when ACT is administered as a single therapy. Our current studies are focused on understanding the processes within the tumor that drive the improved infiltration of T cells following OV delivery and whether the timing of OV treatment dramatically impacts upon the ability of transferred T cells to traffic into the tumor. In addition, using a clinically-relevant approach to generating tumor-specific T cells, termed T cell engineering, we have developed two mouse models that target tumor antigens that are relevant to the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer using ACT. We are in the process of testing these engineered T cells using OV + ACT combinations as a step towards clinical translation. Lastly, we are now investigating mechanisms of immune suppression that may act to limit the duration of effective tumor attack by the transferred T cells and whether additional interventions may be required to further improve OV + ACT combination treatments. Overall, we are well on our way to understanding how best to use OV to compliment ACT therapies for ovarian cancer treatment, studies which would not have been possible without the generous support of OCRF and Teal There’s a Cure."
- AJ Robert McGray, PhD
Additional Past Recipients
2014, 2015, 2016
Bob McGray, PhD
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
"Combination Oncolytic Virotherapy/ACT for Ovarian Cancer Treatment"
2013
Raphael Ceccaldi, PhD, PharmD
Dana-Faber Cancer Institute
"A Bioinformatic Screen Identifies POLQ Overexpression in Ovarian Cancers"
2012
Kate Lawrenson, PhD
University of Southern California
"Modeling Stem Cells Origins of Ephithelian Ovarian Carcinomas"
2011
Gregory Motz, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
"Advancing T-Cell Adoptive Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer"
Bob McGray, PhD
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
"Combination Oncolytic Virotherapy/ACT for Ovarian Cancer Treatment"
2013
Raphael Ceccaldi, PhD, PharmD
Dana-Faber Cancer Institute
"A Bioinformatic Screen Identifies POLQ Overexpression in Ovarian Cancers"
2012
Kate Lawrenson, PhD
University of Southern California
"Modeling Stem Cells Origins of Ephithelian Ovarian Carcinomas"
2011
Gregory Motz, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
"Advancing T-Cell Adoptive Immunotherapy for Ovarian Cancer"
