Medical Oncologist Chosen for Clinical Trial Development Workshop

Debra Richardson, M.D.

Stephenson Cancer Center Physicians Earn Awards to Develop Clinical Trials for Uterine Cancer Patients

Two gynecologic oncologists at Stephenson Cancer Center have earned national research awards to develop concepts

for new clinical trials, with a particular focus on uterine cancer, a disease that is on the rise.

Debra Richardson, M.D., was named a Scholar Investigator by the Gynecologic Oncology Group Foundation, one of 10 chosen nationwide. Camille Gunderson, M.D., was named one of 36 New Investigators by the GOG Foundation. Each receives a grant and stipend to support concept development of new clinical trials, travel to national meetings and service on committees within the GOG Foundation and NRG Oncology. Both are faculty members in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The aim of Richardson’s grant is to become the national principal investigator for a Phase 3 clinical trial. Her working concept focuses on treating uterine cancer with an existing form of chemotherapy and potentially adding a targeted drug to the regimen.

Richardson’s grant also includes a mentoring component. She will be mentored by her colleague at Stephenson Cancer Center, Kathleen Moore, M.D., associate director for clinical research. Richardson, in turn, will mentor three of the new investigators.

Gunderson, too, will be developing a clinical trial concept for a national proposal. Her niche in patient care is treating women with uterine cancer, one of the few cancers that is increasing in incidence and causing more deaths. For years, uterine cancer was not even in the top 10 causes of cancer deaths among women in the United States. Today, it is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed and the sixth most common cause of cancer death among U.S. women, according to the American Cancer Society.