WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, is proud to announce its 2021 Dermatology Fellowship Award recipients.
The Fellows, all MD or PhD 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 detection. The Fellows also receive mentorship, networking opportunities, and other career-development support throughout the fellowship.
“Incidence of melanoma has increased, year-over-year, for the last three decades,” said MRA Board member and melanoma survivor Denise Kellen. “MRA’s Dermatology Fellowship program is attracting some of the brightest minds in the field to do the work needed to disrupt this decades-long trend.”
The MRA Dermatology Fellowship program is part of a broader effort by MRA to further engage dermatologists in research to advance melanoma prevention and early detection. Over the program’s three-year history it has supported a broad range of research projects focused on topics such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence and non-invasive imaging, among others.
“This year, several Fellows will tackle important research questions that contribute to health disparities among people of color,” said MRA Chief Science Officer Marc Hurlbert, PhD. “These projects will help improve artificial intelligence algorithms, raise awareness of melanoma among people of color and identify factors that can help clinicians stratify risk.”
Other awardees will study inherited mutations that increase risk for multiple melanomas, new ways to diagnose melanoma by studying fats in the body as well as other factors that contribute to melanoma metastasis. One award will support women in research while memorializing Grace Wenzel, a young melanoma advocate who succumbed to melanoma at the age of 23 in 2020.
“We are so grateful to the many donors who make MRA’s work possible,” says MRA President & CEO Michael Kaplan. “Without the vision and founding support of Denise and Michael Kellen and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, this program would not exist – and we are thrilled to have the returning support of the Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation.”
2021 MRA Dermatology Fellowship Awardees
Germline Genetic Mutations in Patients with Multiple Primary Melanoma
Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation – MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Audris Chiang M.D., Stanford University
Targeting Lipids for Melanoma Detection and Prevention
Grace Wenzel MRA Dermatology Fellows Award for Women in Melanoma Research
Marianne Collard Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine
Leveraging Social Media to Augment Education on Melanoma in Hispanics
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Collin Costello M.D., Mayo Clinic Arizona
Novel Biomarkers and Treatment Strategies for Acral Lentiginous Melanomas
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Dekker Deacon M.D., Ph.D., The University of Utah
Targeted Advertising to Promote Melanoma Awareness Among Black Americans
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Isabella de Vere Hunt M.D., Stanford University
Multimedia Learning for Melanoma Prevention and Early Detection Education
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Carter Haag M.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Diagnosis of Melanoma Using Machine Learning and Confocal Microscopy
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Jonathan Kentley MBBS, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Evaluating Acral Pigmented Lesions via AI Algorithms in Black Patients
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award on Skin of Color
Mariela Mitre M.D., Ph.D., Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Preventing Melanomagenesis Through Modulating HMGB1 Palmitoylation
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Zhipeng Tao Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Characterizing the Genomic Evolution of Acral Lentiginous Melanoma
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Meng Wang Ph.D., The University of California, San Francisco
Genomic Features of Primary Melanoma Predictive of Brain Metastasis
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Yujue Wang M.D., Ph.D, The University of California, Los Angeles
Molecular Alterations and Immunotherapy Responses in Acral Melanomas
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Jennifer Wiggins-Crosby Ph.D., New York University School of Medicine
Distant Metastasis by Early ALM in Patients with Skin of Color
MRA Dermatology Fellows Award
Zhentao Yang Ph.D., The University of California, Los Angeles
About Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA)
Founded in 2007 under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the generous support of Debra and Leon Black, the Melanoma Research Alliance exists to accelerate treatment options and find a cure for melanoma. As the largest nonprofit funder of melanoma research, it has dedicated over $131 million and leveraged an additional $415 million in collaborative and follow-on funding towards its mission. Through its support, MRA has championed revolutions in immunotherapy, targeted therapies, novel combinations and diagnostics. Due to the ongoing support of its founders, 100 percent of donations to MRA go directly to its melanoma research program. MRA's ability to fund wide-ranging research in melanoma is amplified by unique collaborations and partnerships with individuals, private foundations, and corporations. Visit http://www.CureMelanoma.org for more information.
