Donor Spotlight

Thanks to a generous gift from Rebekah and Howard Farber, the Division of Gynecologic Oncology is launching an innovative pilot project that will provide real-time clinical trial information to physicians during patient visits—ensuring patients have immediate access to the latest treatment opportunities. 

Led by Dr. Dana Chase, faculty member in the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, the project is developing an AI-powered, chatbot-assisted clinical trial database. This tool will match patients to eligible clinical trials using real-time data from Southern California medical centers specializing in gynecologic cancers. The platform—accessible via mobile phone or computer—will draw from regularly updated information on clinicaltrials.gov and through a new partnership with the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation. The chatbot will be less cumbersome than current search engines. 

“Having this information in the hands of physicians at the point of service will allow our doctors to discuss opportunities for investigational therapeutics during the patient visit and should improve overall knowledge of and participation in clinical trials” said Dr. Chase. 

"Finding the right clinical trial for the right patient exactly when it’s needed is one of the greatest challenges our gyn onc doctors face. We’re proud to support a project that puts critical information about availability, location, and eligibility in the hands of both patients and providers during the course of treatment when it’s needed most,” said Rebekah Farber. “This unique innovation has the potential to change lives—and we hope our gift inspires others to support similar advancements in women's health." 

The Farber’s visionary gift exemplifies the powerful impact philanthropy can have on accelerating progress in patient care and research.