Meet Kimberly Richardson, ovarian cancer patient advocate, and Tova Bergsten, MD/PhD Candidate. Connecting cancer patients to researchers.

Patient advocacy meets science

Kimberly Richardson created a unique program at the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) Cancer Center called Survivors Advising Scientists Training Program. Tova Bergsten is a 4th year MD/PhD Candidate at UIC College of Medicine working on ovarian cancer research in the lab of Joanna Burdette. Kimberly's goal is to create true collaborations between those researching ovarian cancer and those who are surviving it. They are intent on keeping the learning bidirectional – where patients can learn from the scientists, but also for scientists to be able to learn from the patients.

(clockwise from left) Kiberly Richcardson, Tova Bergsten and Dave Bjork