Photo of the Whelan lab

The Whelan Lab

Research in the Whelan lab is motivated by the need to detect and treat ovarian cancer in its early stages. We approach the problem of ovarian cancer detection with a diverse tool kit drawn from bioanalytical chemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and nanoscience.

Recent Whelan Group News

December 9, 2024 - The Whelan group welcomes four new members! Samson Aruna and Jane March are first-year graduate students in Chemistry. Danielle Dotson is a first-year graduate student in Bioengineering. Susan Bilderback is second-year undergraduate majoring in Human Biology.  Welcome to all, and we are looking forward to doing some great science together!

December 5, 2024 - Chien-Wei successfully defended his dissertation, "Characterizing the tandem repeat region of ovarian cancer biomarker CA125," and will earn his Ph.D. with honors. Congratulations, Dr. Wang!

November 20, 2024 - Chien-Wei and Trisha attended the Ovarian Cancer Midwest Focus (OCMF) Conference in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Both gave poster presentations about our current work to understand the molecular-level recognition of ovarian cancer biomarker CA125. They agreed that the gathering of experts, advocates, and those impacted by ovarian cancer made for a stimulating meeting and a valuable experience. Many thanks to the conference planning committee, which included our collaborator Dr. Andrew Godwin from the KU Medical Center. 

November 19, 2024 - Congratulations to third-year graduate students Caitlin McEntee and Anubhuti Srivastava on passing their oral exams!

October 26, 2024 - Several members of the Whelan lab attended the 3rd Annual Chemical Biology Symposium at KU. Rebecca--in her role as co-director of the T32 training program--helped organize the meeting, Trisha received a poster prize, and Ashten got the award for best lightning talk. Congratulations, Trisha and Ashten!

Education Links

Funding Sources

  • We are grateful to have received support from the National Cancer Institute, the National Science Foundation, Kansas Institute for Precision Medicine, T.E.A.L. Tell Every Amazing Lady About Ovarian Cancer, the Dreyfus Foundation, and Research Corporation