Feature

UMBC research team discovers promising molecular target for ovarian cancer treatment

Sep 24, 2026 • By Sarah Hansen, M.S. '15

Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed after it has already spread to other parts of the body, at which point the five-year survival rate is under 30 percent. Further complicating treatment, standard therapies cause substantial harm to healthy cells alongside cancerous ones. But what if ovarian cancer treatment could more specifically target cancerous cells, causing less harm to the rest of the body? New research from Achuth Padmanabhan’s lab offers hope in the form of a potential molecular target for new cancer drugs: an enzyme called USP15, which ovarian cancer cells appear to rely on more heavily than normal cells. Biological sciences Ph.D. student Ayokunnumi “Ayo” Ogunsanya led the work, which showed that lowering USP15 levels causes a constellation of effects that make it a prime target for new treatments.