AOA Dx

In honor of October being Breast Cancer and Menopause awareness month, we want to highlight the connection between menopause and increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Learn more about new data that was presented earlier this year at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting: "Welt and colleagues began the study with the hypothesis that some women with primary ovarian insufficiency and their family members might be predisposed to reproductive or hormone-related cancers. Primary ovarian insufficiency is a condition that occurs when a woman's ovaries stop working normally prior to age 40."

We can't think of a better way to celebrate World Cancer Research Day than to shine a spotlight on the individuals who are driving cancer research forward! Meet Rachel C. PhD, our Senior Product Scientist! Learn more about Rachel's day to day and what she's currently working on to help bring early detection to ovarian cancer patients! “Almost everyone in my family has been impacted by cancer, which sparked my interest to make an impact in the field of cancer biology. While lots of research focuses on improving cancer treatment, there is not enough emphasis on early diagnosis, as catching cancer early, particularly ovarian cancer, significantly improves outcomes. However, women's cancers are frustratingly understudied which has caused (and continues to cause) real-world consequences. Women deserve better, and I’m proud to be making a difference at AOA.”

Did you catch our CEO + Co-Founder Oriana Papin-Zoghbi at the Women's Health Innovation Summit at the "CEO Spotlight" session? Oriana had the honor to share a bit about our journey at AOA, our mission to make early detection a reality for ovarian cancer patients, and her role as a founder in the women's health space! Thank you WHIS for the invite and for letting us share our story! ?? ft: Alice Zheng Elizabeth Bailey Stasia Obremskey Foreground Capital Ariel Kramer

I’m incredibly proud to share that I was recently featured in The New York Times! It’s been an incredible journey raising over $20M for AOA Dx to advance ovarian cancer diagnostics, but the article also touches on some of the tougher realities of fundraising, especially for female founders. “Female-founded start-ups received 7 percent of pre-seed and seed funding, the earliest funding a start-up raises, in 2023, up from 5 percent in 2015, according to the data platform Crunchbase. For women-founded businesses seeking investments past a Series B round, typically the third funding round, the share of venture capital dollars contracted to 1 percent from 2 percent over the same period, according to Crunchbase.” While we’ve been lucky to have amazing support from many investors who truly believe in our mission, there’s still a long way to go to make sure more female founders have the same opportunity to raise the capital they need—especially beyond the early stages. The system needs to change, and I’m determined to help make that happen. Big thanks to Good Growth Capital (Amy Salzhauer, John Friedman, Samuel Scofield), Y Combinator (Surbhi Sarna), Labcorp (Megann Watters, Christina Dixon Smith), RH Capital (Alice Zheng, Elizabeth Bailey), Avestria Ventures (Linda Greub, CFA, MBA, Tracy Dooley MD), Astia (Victoria Pettibone), The Helm (Lindsey Taylor Wood), Adaptive Capital Partners (Shi-Ying Lau 刘诗莹, Rosalind Tan (陈燕晴)), VU Venture Partners, LongeVC, Gore Range Capital, Joyance Partners, Pioneer Fund, AlleyCorp, FemHealth Ventures, Emmeline Ventures, Catalytic Impact Foundation for your belief in us and for helping move the needle with your dollars. Let’s keep pushing for more opportunities for women founders to raise the big rounds and build transformative things! Thank you Nell Gallogly for telling this story.

Next week our CEO + Co-Founder Oriana Papin-Zoghbi will be speaking at the Women's Health Innovation Summit! Come to the CEO Spotlight Session to learn more about our journey at AOA Dx and our mission to bring early detection to ovarian cancer patients. See you there!

What an evening! Many thanks to everyone who joined us at Catalyst HTI for Denver Startup Week! Our Co-Founder & CRO Anna Milik Jeter moderated the panel "Making Women's Health a National Priority" where she had the opportunity to speak with Liz Powell, Founder of G2G - Innovative Government Affairs Consulting, Margo Harrison MD MPH, CEO of Wave Bye Inc, Erin Maruzzella, Founder & Managing Partner at Healthspan Business Partners, and Xaviera Bell, MS, PFP, cHET, CD, Executive Director of Zeal of Xander. We’re excited to strengthen our involvement in the Denver biotech and healthcare scene to advance women's health advocacy and other key initiatives!

Attention Denver community! Join us today, Tuesday, September 17th at 5pm Catalyst HTI (Catalyst RiNo) for a panel and networking with women's health leaders in Colorado and beyond! The panel will highlight the critical policy work being done with the Women's Health PAC to elevate women’s healthcare on the national stage. Attendees will explore Colorado healthcare policy initiatives and discover practical ways to get involved in advocacy efforts to drive meaningful change in women’s health. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ek3iypQ6 We look forward to seeing you there!

Behind the scenes at AOA Dx with our Co-Founder & CRO Anna Milik Jeter! Take a look at what Anna and her team are working on ??

Attention Denver community! Join us next Tuesday, September 17th at Catalyst HTI (Catalyst RiNo) for a panel and networking with women's health leaders in Colorado and beyond! The panel will highlight the critical policy work being done with the Women's Health PAC to elevate women’s healthcare on the national stage. Attendees will explore Colorado healthcare policy initiatives and discover practical ways to get involved in advocacy efforts to drive meaningful change in women’s health. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ek3iypQ6 We look forward to seeing you there! #denverstartupweek #womenshealth #denver #colorado #ovariancancer

In honor of Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day, we’re proud to share the inspiring story of an ovarian cancer thriver who has become a valued advocate within the AOA family, helping us raise awareness about the importance of early detection! Check out Emma Schlamm's story on Today.com to learn more about her journey. Thank you Emma for all the work you do to educate, and inspire this community! #ovariancancer #womenshealth #cancer #lgsoc