Donor Spotlight
Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation’s Annual Sandy Sprint California
The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation will host its annual on November 3, 2024 at Los Angeles’s historic Griffith Park to raise awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research. All proceeds from this fundraiser will support UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology’s research efforts in the field of ovarian cancer. The event features a 5K run/walk, survivor ceremony, and live performances.
Past proceeds have funded the research efforts of Sandra Orsulic, PhD, Professor in Residence of UCLA Obstetrics and Gynecology, who’s laboratory focuses on the development of mouse models in which ovarian cancer can be induced and studied during its early stages of growth and metastatic progression. The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation’s 2023 race proceeds specifically supported Dr. Orsulic’s work on tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) — small immune system-like hubs inside tumors that help immune cells attack cancer cells more effectively. The research found that TLSs in ovarian cancer patients are abundant but often poorly organized and immature, suggesting that efforts to boost the immune response in ovarian cancer should focus on improving TLS functionality rather than increasing their number. A detailed analysis of the spatial organization of cell types in dysfunctional TLS aggregates in patients with early relapse revealed that plasma cells were frequently trapped within cancer-associated fibroblasts. These studies were published in Nature Communications (Kasikova et al., 2024) and Science Advances (Xu et al., 2024).
The Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation was created as a tribute to the life, character, and immense strength of Sandy Rollman by co-founders Adriana Way, her sister, and Robin Cohen, her nurse. The mission of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation is “to fight for those who are fighting, speak for those who have fallen silent and provide for those who are working towards the end of ovarian cancer.”
For more information and to participate in the , please visit the event website.
Sandy Sprint Information(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)