The Melanoma Research Alliance, a non-profit funder of melanoma research, has named 13 promising clinicians/researchers-in-training as 2020 MRA Dermatology Fellows.

The Fellows, all trainees – either as dermatologists or researchers focused on dermatology – will each receive a $35,000 grant to support an independent research or demonstration project focused on advancing melanoma prevention or early detection. Fellows’ research interests are broad, including research aimed at telemedicine, machine learning, and development of a prevention intervention for young adults.

“This program is unique because it helps attract the best and brightest young scientists and clinicians to focus their efforts on advancing melanoma prevention and early detection

“By investing in these rising stars, we are investing in the next generation of dermatologists and dermatology-focused researchers who will serve on the front lines against this disease.”

— MRA Board member and melanoma survivor Denise Kellen

The MRA Dermatology Fellowship program, now in its second year, is part of a broader effort by MRA to further engage dermatologists in research to advance melanoma prevention and early detection. This is important because as recent treatment advances have helped people with melanoma live longer, they have not blunted the ever-increasing number of new melanomas diagnosed each year. This year it’s estimated that more than 100,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma.

“We are incredibly grateful for our many donors who are integral in our work.

“Denise and Michael Kellen’s support truly made this program possible and we are thrilled to see Caterina Heil, Jessica and Natan Bibliowicz and the Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation join them in supporting year two of this important initiative.”

— MRA President & CEO Michael Kaplan

2020 MRA Dermatology Fellowship Awardees

Shirin Bajaj, MD
Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation – MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
New York University School of Medicine
Development of an Enhanced Telemedicine-Based Melanoma Diagnostic Platform

Juliana Berk-Krauss, MD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Early Detection and Novel Therapies Impact Melanoma Incidence and Mortality

Carter Haag, M.D.
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Oregon Health & Science University
Multimedia Learning for Melanoma Prevention and Early Detection Education

Jonathan Kentley, MBBS
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Diagnosis of Melanoma Using Machine Learning and Confocal Microscopy

Sixue Liu, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
The University of California, Los Angeles
Mechanisms and Treatments of Metastatic Dissemination by Stage III Melanoma

Enrica Quattrocchi, MD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Mayo Clinic
Melanoma Staging by Artificial Intelligence

Aditi Sahu, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Towards a Multimodal Imaging Approach for In Vivo Melanoma Diagnosis

Mariana Silva, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
A Novel Integrin-Dependent Metastasis Pathway in Melanoma

Qi Sun, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
New York University School of Medicine
Transcriptional Profiling and Marker Identification of Early Stage Melanoma

Zhipeng Tao, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Massachusetts General Hospital
Preventing Melanomagenesis Through Modulating HMGB1 Palmitoylation

Matthew Vesely, MD, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Yale University, School of Medicine
Determining the Immune Inhibitory Landscape in Melanoma

Meng Wang, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
The University of California, San Francisco
Characterizing the Genomic Evolution of Acral Lentiginous Melanoma

Yujue Wang, MD, PhD
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
The University of California, Los Angeles
Genomic Features of Primary Melanoma Predictive of Brain Metastasis

[Source(s): Melanoma Research Alliance, Business Wire]


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