The research in our lab focuses on understanding the early pathogenesis of ovarian cancer and implicating this knowledge in treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer.
Our research group is affiliated with the Division of Oncology at Rambam, which allows us to channel our research to finding solutions to problems detected in real patients. Specifically, our focus is the study of the most common and aggressive subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer - high grade serous ovarian carcinoma. The most recent paradigm states that this disease originates in the fallopian tube epithelium rather than in the ovary.
Dr. Ruth Perets, while a post doc in Dr. Ronny Drapkin's lab in the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, in collaboration with Dr. Dinulescu's lab in BWH, led the development of a genetically engineered mouse model that faithfully recapitulates the human disease in terms of pre-invasive lesions, clinical course, histology, tumor markers, serum biomarkers and genomic landscape.
Our model is currently available at Rambam Health Care Campus, enabling us to study early pathogenesis, preventive methods and targeted therapy for ovarian cancer. Some of our ongoing projects focus on studying the role of the fallopian tube lineage marker PAX8 in ovarian cancer and in normal development of the fallopian tube.
Understanding the role of PAX8 in the process of malignant transformation can serve as a model system to test whether the developmental and physiological role of a lineage marker is maintained during this intricate process. Towards that aim we use various tools such as cell culture, molecular biology, expression profiling and protein based assays.
Meet the Perets Lab Team