UConn Researchers Developing Novel Device to Better Detect Ovarian Cancer

Molly Brewer, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the Women’s Cancer Prevention Program at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and Quing Zhu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Connecticut, received a five-year, $1.63 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. The two scholars will use the grant money to develop and test a novel hybrid imaging device for the detection of ovarian cancer.

Molly Brewer

Ovarian cancer kills nearly 14,000 women each year in the United States. One of the major problems is that ovarian cancer is difficult to detect and often, upon detection, the disease has progressed to a point where survival rates are low.

Quing Zhu

The new research will utilize both photoacoustic and ultrasound techniques in one device giving doctors a clearer view of suspected tumors. The device will also be used as a guide during surgical procedures.

Dr. Brewer received her medical training at Syracuse University. She also holds a master’s degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Professor Zhu holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.