2011 MRA Meetings
MRA Convenes Top Melanoma Researchers at Third Annual Scientific Retreat
| MRA Third Annual Scientific Retreat |
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) convened its Third Annual Scientific Retreat in Washington, DC, Feb. 16-18, 2011. The retreat brought together 150 leading scientists from around the world, as well as senior leadership from nonprofit foundations, government agencies, industry, and other key stakeholders to share early findings, identify future directions, discuss ideas, and look for synergies and partnerships (view the agenda).
MRA is grateful to its corporate allies for their generous financial and in-kind support of the retreat, including: AdvaMedDx, Birds Nest Foundation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Celgene Corporation, Genentech, Life Technologies, Lilly, Novartis, SkinCeuticals, and Style Network.
MRA will summarize the highlights and key themes from the retreat in a report that will be published and posted online in May.
Banbury Center Conference Convenes Experts to Find Cure
On March 22, 2011, a select group of scientific innovators and clinical thought leaders convened at the Banbury Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory for a three-day symposium on “Curing melanoma and other cancers by targeted therapies.” This timely gathering was only the second melanoma meeting ever held in this prestigious venue, and it was made possible by the collaborative support of the Melanoma Research Alliance and the Hazen Polsky Foundation. Representatives from diverse but interacting fields including cancer genetics, epigenetics, metabolism, and immunology were brought together from the academic, government, and pharmaceutical sectors of scientific discovery. This dynamic invitation-only meeting was attended not only by melanoma field “insiders,” but also by experts from other areas of biology and oncology whose ideas were brought to bear on the challenge of accelerating a cure for melanoma. The excitement from recent notable clinical progress with molecularly targeted therapies (e.g., highly selective BRAF inhibitors) and immunotherapeutic modalities (e.g., ipilimumab) was tempered by a recognition of the immediate challenge to understand and overcome resistance mechanisms to these drugs. Energetic dialogue among meeting participants led to a general conclusion that combinatorial treatment regimens will hold the key to meaningful clinical impact and an ultimate cure for melanoma.