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Oxford researchers awarded funding to pioneer ovarian cancer vaccine development

Ovarian cancer remains a devastating global health challenge: each year, over 300,000 women are diagnosed, and nearly 200,000 lives are lost, largely because the disease is detected at a late stage. Women carrying inherited genetic changes face a significantly elevated lifetime risk, over 40%, and current preventive strategies often require invasive surgery that compromises fertility. These limitations underscore an urgent need for non-surgical preventive options, and vaccines could offer a groundbreaking solution.

The award was awarded by Ovarian Cancer Action in August 2025. This three-year funded programme, “Developing a vaccine to prevent ovarian cancer: Optimising the vehicle”, will harness cutting-edge science to design and evaluate vaccine candidates targeting tumour-associated antigens, together with mRNA-based technologies and using Lipid Nanoparticle as delivery platform. In particular, this innitiave will encompass patient and public involvement throughout. The awarded funding will support vaccine design, preclinical evaluation, and the development of optimal delivery strategies, laying the foundation for eventual clinical trials.

The project is led by a multidisciplinary Oxford team:

  • Lead Applicant: Professor Ahmed Ashour Ahmed, Professor of Gynaecological Oncology, University of Oxford, and Director of the Ovarian Cancer Cell Laboratory at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.
  • Co-Lead Applicant: Dr César López-Camacho, Group Leader and Jenner Investigator at the Jenner Institute, who leads the mRNA Technology Programme.
  • Co-Investigator: Dr Nancy Zaarour, Elman Poole Ovarian Cancer Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford.

 

Read the full story on the Nuffield Dept.of Women's & Reproductive Health website.

 

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