The newly formed Global Ovarian Cancer Research Consortium has launched a $1 million AI Accelerator Grant with an additional $1 million in compute support from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab to improve ovarian cancer survival rates, the organizations announced on World Ovarian Cancer Day.
The consortium brings together four leading ovarian cancer research organizations across four countries: Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (United States), Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (Australia), Ovarian Cancer Canada, and Ovarian Cancer Action (United Kingdom).
324,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer globally each year, with 207,000 women dying from the disease. By 2050, these numbers are projected to rise to over 503,000 diagnoses and nearly 351,000 deaths annually.
“For far too long, survival rates have barely budged, and women around the world continue to face devastating odds. We cannot afford to wait another decade for meaningful progress,” said Audra Moran, President and CEO of Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. “At OCRA, we believe that artificial intelligence could hold the key to accelerating the breakthroughs we so desperately need—from earlier detection to better treatment options which is why we envisioned a grant of this global magnitude and scope specifically for AI.”
The consortium, formed in 2024, is requiring researchers to build international teams with representatives from each of the four countries to compete for the grant. Microsoft will provide up to $1 million of in-kind Azure compute credits to the successful project through its AI for Good Lab partnership with OCRA.
“New discoveries are needed to find lifesaving treatments for ovarian cancer, a cancer that tragically still has a low survival rate,” said Juan Lavista Ferres, Microsoft Chief Data Scientist and Director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab. “Equipping leading researchers around the globe with powerful AI tools and computing resources will help accelerate their critical work, hopefully leading to breakthroughs that save women’s lives.”
Wwhile AI is already advancing diagnoses in other cancer types—including breast, brain, skin, and thyroid cancers—ovarian cancer has yet to benefit from similar technological breakthroughs.
Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, the largest global organization dedicated to fighting ovarian and gynecologic cancers, has invested $128 million in research since 1994 and helped secure $3.8 billion in federal research funding. The organization supports approximately 95,000 individuals annually.
More information about the grant application process is available on the OCRA website.
