Colleen C. Wilcox/Swim Across America Ovarian Cancer Innovation Grant supports Dr. Douglas Mitchell and his team’s groundbreaking research to improve immunotherapy for ovarian cancer
NASHVILLE, Tenn., November 2, 2026 — Swim Across America, a national nonprofit dedicated to funding cancer research and clinical trials, has awarded its Colleen C. Wilcox/Swim Across America Ovarian Cancer Innovation Grant, a $450,000 research grant, to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center to support a promising new approach to treating ovarian cancer. The two-year grant is funding research led by Douglas Mitchell, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, William Kelly Warren Sr. Chair in Biochemistry, and professor of biochemistry and chemistry, and his team. The grant was made possible through a gift from Harry Wilcox in memory of his mother Colleen C. Wilcox.
The grant supports pivotal research led by Douglas Mitchell, PhD, and his research team, including Ronald Alvarez, Brian Lehmann and Adam Rosenberg, who are investigating a novel approach to overcoming one of the greatest challenges in treating ovarian cancer – the inability of many patients’ tumors to respond to immunotherapy. Their research project, titled “Preventing Immune Checkpoint Failure in Epithelial Ovarian Cancer,” seeks to develop an innovative treatment strategy that could help the body’s immune system recognize and attack ovarian cancer cells more effectively.
“Transformative advances in cancer research often begin with bold ideas that require vision, commitment, and early investment,” noted Ben Park, MD, PhD, director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. “Swim Across America has created an extraordinary model of philanthropy that brings communities together to support innovative research and accelerate discoveries that might otherwise go unexplored. We are deeply grateful for their continued partnership and investment in Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and for their commitment to advancing ovarian cancer research that has the potential to improve the lives of women facing this disease.”
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer in the United States, with many patients diagnosed only after the disease has spread. The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,010 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year, and about 12,450 women succumb to the disease. High-grade serous ovarian cancer, the most common and aggressive form, is particularly difficult to treat. Although surgery and chemotherapy can initially control the disease, recurrence is common, and treatment options become increasingly limited as the cancer develops resistance.
Immunotherapy has been transformative as a treatment for other types of cancer by helping the immune system recognize and destroy cancer cells. However, these treatments have generally shown limited effectiveness against ovarian cancer because tumors can create an environment that prevents immune cells from penetrating them.
Dr. Mitchell’s research team is working to change that scenario.
Dr. Mitchell and his fellow researchers have developed an innovative class of experimental molecules called lasso peptides, small, stable molecules designed to block specific proteins that help ovarian tumors evade the immune system. By targeting these proteins, researchers hope to remove barriers that prevent the body’s natural defenses from fighting the cancer.
Early laboratory studies in ovarian cancer mouse models have shown encouraging results. While immunotherapy or the experimental lasso peptides alone produced limited effects, combining the two approaches led to tumor regression and long-lasting survival in the preclinical models.
With support from the Colleen C. Wilcox/Swim Across America Ovarian Cancer Innovation Grant, the Vanderbilt research team will further investigate which ovarian tumors are most likely to respond to the combination therapy. The team also plans to develop an imaging approach using positron emission tomography (PET) scans to track whether the experimental treatment reaches tumors effectively.
“We are excited by the prospects of lasso peptides as a new drug modality because they marry the stability of small molecules with the precision of antibodies,” noted Douglas Mitchell, PhD. “Their modularity also permits the addition of tags for diagnostic imaging, so we can better match patients with the proper drugs. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Swim Across America and the Wilcox family for backing this work.”
This approach could eventually help physicians identify which patients are most likely to benefit from treatment, potentially reducing time spent on therapies unlikely to work while improving outcomes for women facing ovarian cancer.
“I’m often asked which Swim Across America-funded research breakthrough is the most meaningful,” noted Rob Butcher, CEO of Swim Across America. “My answer is always the same: either the most recent one or the one still to come. The work that Dr. Mitchell and his researchers at Vanderbilt-Ingram show a lot of promise. It’s high-risk, high-reward work that can change lives.”
The Colleen C. Wilcox/Swim Across America Ovarian Cancer Innovation Grant was established through the generosity of Harry Wilcox, a Swim Across America supporter, to honor the memory of his mother, and support innovative research that could lead to more effective treatments for women diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“My college roommate Jim Meehan and my wife, Patricia Hambrick, are both Swim Across America participants who originally introduced me to Swim Across America with its Boston area swim,” Harry Wilcox shared. “I admire the approach Swim Across America takes in awarding grants that drive innovation in cancer research and detection. I’m honored to have the Colleen C. Wilcox/Swim Across America Ovarian Cancer Innovation Grant in my mother’s memory. She would be proud to know that this grant is supporting potential new treatments that will save lives.”
The grant reflects Swim Across America’s longstanding commitment to supporting promising early-stage cancer research and bringing new ideas from the laboratory closer to patients. The $450,000 grant will be awarded over 24 months, from November 1, 2026, through October 31, 2028, with the full award directed toward research rather than institutional overhead.
Swim Across America has a proven track record of supporting early-stage research that has contributed to major advances in cancer treatment, including the development of FDA-approved immunotherapy cancer treatments Keytruda, Opdivo, Yervoy, Tecentriq and the recent FDA approved Jemperli. Through its nationwide charity swims, philanthropic gifts and Cancer Innovation Fund, the organization has awarded more than $150 million to cancer research and patient programs since its founding in 1987. Its previous Cancer Innovation grants supported two first-of-its-kind gene editing innovation grants to the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, advancing novel CRISPR gene and base editing techniques used in targeted therapies, immunotherapies and cellular therapies. Swim Across America supports more than 60 cancer research projects annually at many of the nation’s leading cancer institutions.
Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With open water and pool swims in communities across the United States — from Nantucket to under the Golden Gate Bridge — Swim Across America, along with thousands of swimmers, volunteers and past and current Olympians nationwide, is helping find better treatments and a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more, visit swimacrossamerica.org.
