Letter's from the President

 

July 20, 2010


Dear Friend:


I am pleased to announce the release of the MRA report, “Transformative Advances in Melanoma Research,” a summary of the progress and opportunities in melanoma research reported at our Second Annual Scientific Retreat, held February 24-26, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annual MRA retreat is a key element of MRA’s program, facilitating collaboration by bringing together leading scientists from the U.S. and abroad, as well as senior leadership from non-profit foundations, government agencies, industry, and other key stakeholders to share their latest findings and to identify new approaches to understanding and treating melanoma.

 

Although melanoma poses many difficult challenges, researchers working at the basic and clinical levels are making significant progress toward developing better diagnostic and preventive measures, improved treatments, and a deeper understanding of this complex and deadly disease. Recent advances in the development of new therapeutic approaches have generated excitement and optimism for a better outlook for melanoma patients. With the significant infusion of research funding from the MRA, investigators are finding ways to improve upon these results as well as create new prevention, detection, and treatment approaches to combat this deadly disease.

 

The retreat featured presentations from MRA-funded investigators, invited special lectures, and focused sessions on key topics of interest. The report summarizes the highlights and key themes of the meeting’s scientific sessions.

 

 

The MRA scientific retreat facilitated the information-sharing across research sectors needed to continue to build a robust, collaborative melanoma research community focused on delivering effective results as quickly as possible. Focused on finding and funding the most promising melanoma research worldwide, MRA supports novel research programs that will advance scientific understanding of melanoma needed to enable the development of effective treatments and accelerate progress towards a cure.  As of March 2010, MRA has awarded $17 million to 44 research projects with plans to award an additional $5 million in 2010 to support new and innovative research that will make transforming advances in melanoma prevention, diagnosis, staging, and treatment.

 

Download a copy of the report. I hope you find the report useful and informative. The Melanoma Research Alliance looks forward to partnering with you in our pursuit of our mission of defeating melanoma. Thank you for your continuing interest in our work.


Wendy K.D. Selig

President & CEO

Melanoma Research Alliance