Goli Samimi, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Goli Samimi received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego, focusing on molecular mechanisms in ovarian cancer that conferred resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy. For her post-doctorate, she joined the Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (CPFP) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 2005, in which she completed her Master of Public Health degree at Harvard School of Public Health, examining associations between measures of energy balance and mammographic density using data from the Nurses’ Health Study. Her research at NCI as a CPFP Fellow focused on molecular profiling of the tumor microenvironment in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. In 2011, Dr. Samimi joined the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia, as Head of the Ovarian Cancer Research Group. Her lab research focused on the development of a blood-based DNA test for early detection of ovarian cancer, and the evaluation of a novel targeted therapeutic in high-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Since 2015, Dr. Samimi has served as a Program Director in the Breast and Gynecologic Cancer Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP), NCI. She manages the ovarian and endometrial cancer prevention portfolios and serves as scientific lead within the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CP-CTNet). Dr. Samimi’s research interests include molecular mechanisms of ovarian cancer etiology and identification of women and families at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Dr. Samimi leads the Traceback program, aimed to increase identification of families at increased risk for ovarian cancer by genetic testing of previously diagnosed cases. She is also working with DCP’s PREVENT program and the Center for Advanced Preclinical Research (CAPR) at NCI-Frederick to develop relevant ovarian cancer mouse models to test agents with potential for ovarian cancer prevention. In addition, Dr. Samimi leads studies investigating perceptions of cancer risk and decision-making regarding cancer prevention in primary care physicians. Dr. Samimi also works with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to identify the gaps in the field related to progression of benign gynecologic disease to gynecologic cancer.