Wellbeing of Women is extremely proud to announce that researcher Dr Garth Funston will receive the inaugural Transformational Research Award from The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition.

In 2017, Dr Garth Funston, who is a Clinical Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, was awarded funding by Wellbeing of Women for his research project on finding new early-stage tests for ovarian cancer in a primary care setting.

The prize is one of twelve impact awards being made by The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition at a ceremony today. It recognises Dr Funston’s long-standing commitment to furthering progress in the understanding of ovarian cancer and to developing approaches to benefit women affected by the disease.When selecting Dr Garth Funston for the award, The World Ovarian Cancer Coalition, said:“Dr. Funston’s research has markedly improved the understanding of how tests for ovarian cancer are used, how accurate they are, and has the potential for women to make more informed choices for themselves and for the ovarian cancer diagnostic pathway to be improved."Dr Garth Funston said:

“I feel very honoured to have been selected for this award. I became involved in ovarian cancer research when, as a General Practitioner, I saw how challenging it is to detect the disease early in women within primary care.

“I believe that through better understanding and use of existing tests, such as CA125, and through optimisation of the diagnostic pathway, we can improve outcomes for women with ovarian cancer. This is something I am passionate about and I plan to continue working on the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer in the future.“I would like to express my sincere thanks to my mentors, Professor Fiona Walter, Professor Emma Crosbie and Professor Willie Hamilton, for their guidance over the last few years and to the organisations who have funded my ovarian cancer research including the Cancer Research UK CanTest initiative and Wellbeing of Women.”Janet Lindsay, CEO of Wellbeing of Women, said:“We want to congratulate Dr Funston for receiving this prestigious award. The area of research into improving the diagnosis of ovarian cancer in primary care is such an important one, as it could potentially give women a faster and accurate diagnosis, and help to ensure the best possible outcomes. We are absolutely thrilled to see Dr Funston’s work get the recognition it deserves.”Read more about Dr Garth Funston’s Wellbeing of Women research project.World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Impact AwardsThe World Ovarian Cancer Coalition will stream the awards ceremony on Friday 1 October during the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition Partner Meeting. Read more about the Impact Awards.