International consortium launches US$1m AI grant to tackle ovarian cancer

An international group of ovarian cancer research charities has launched a new AI-focused grant aimed at accelerating progress in one of the most underfunded and least survivable cancers affecting women worldwide.

The Global Ovarian Cancer Research Consortium — a collaboration between organisations in the US, UK, Canada and Australia — has announced a US$1m AI Accelerator Grant to support research into ovarian cancer, alongside US$1m in computing credits from Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab.

Each year, approximately 324,000 women globally are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 207,000 die from the disease. Despite ongoing efforts, survival rates have improved little over the past decades. The consortium’s grant aims to stimulate innovation using artificial intelligence to improve detection, diagnosis and treatment outcomes.

The consortium includes Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (US), Ovarian Cancer Action (UK), Ovarian Cancer Canada, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (Australia). It was established in 2024 to coordinate international efforts and pool resources in an effort to drive faster progress.

“For far too long, survival rates have barely budged, and women around the world continue to face devastating odds,” said Audra Moran, president and CEO of Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA). “We cannot afford to wait another decade for meaningful progress. 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 grant will require research teams to include members from all four participating countries. Successful applicants will receive Azure cloud computing resources through Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, intended to scale the impact of their research.

“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, 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.”

Global projections suggest that by 2050, diagnoses of ovarian cancer will rise by over 55%, with an estimated 503,448 women affected annually. Deaths are expected to reach 350,956 per year. While AI is already being applied across a range of cancers, its potential impact in ovarian cancer remains underexplored.

See more about the grant programme here : https://ocrahope.org/research/information-for-researchers/grant-programs/