Press Releases
Media Inquiries:
Cecilia ArradazaCommunications Director
p: 202-336-8912
e: carradaza@fastercures.org
Melanoma Research Alliance Awards Support Seven Teams Pursuing Novel, Outcomes-
Driven Melanoma Research
Washington, DC, July 30, 2009 – The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) today announced the recipients of $6.9 million in awards to support seven multidisciplinary teams pursuing novel, outcomes-driven melanoma research. These awards are part of the MRA’s second round of grants focused on research that addresses the gap in translational science.
In its second year of grantmaking, the MRA is supporting 37 of the most promising melanoma research programs worldwide, totaling more than $16 million in an effort to accelerate progress toward a cure.
The following are the recipients of this latest round of MRA grants:
Title: Developing Melanoma Screening in Primary Care |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Martin A. Weinstock, M.D., Ph.D., Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University |
| • | Maryam Asgari, M.D., M.P.H., Kaiser Foundation Research Institute |
| • | Melody Eide, M.D., M.P.H., Henry Ford Health System |
| • | Suzanne Fletcher, M.D., M.Sc., Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Harvard Medical School |
| • | Alan Geller, R.N., M.P.H., Harvard School of Public Health |
| • | Allan Halpern, M.D., M.S., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
Title: Manipulating Immune Regulation in Adoptive T-cell Therapy for Melanoma |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Jeffrey Weber, M.D., Ph.D., H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute |
| • | Patrick Hwu, M.D., M.D. Anderson Cancer Center |
Title: Identification and Validation of Combination Therapies for Melanomas |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Michael J. Weber, Ph.D., University of Virginia |
| • | Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute |
| • | Dan Gioeli, Ph.D., University of Virginia |
Proposal Title: Sequencing of the Melanoma Exome, Transcriptome and Epigenome |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Ruth Halaban, Ph.D., Yale University |
| • | Marcus Bosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University |
| • | Michael Krauthammer, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University |
| • | David Stern, Ph.D., Yale University |
Title: Combinatorial Immunotherapy for Melanoma with B7-H1/PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Drew Pardoll, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University |
| • | Lieping Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University |
| • | Suzanne Topalian, M.D., Johns Hopkins University |
Title: Identification of Novel Melanoma Risk Genes Using High-throughput Genomics |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Jeffrey Trent, Ph.D., Translational Genomics Research Institute |
| • | Nicolas Hayward, Ph.D., Queensland Institute of Medical Research |
| • | Goran Jonsson, Ph.D., Lund University |
| • | Graham Mann, Ph.D., The University of Sydney |
Defining the Importance of Immunity to NY-ESO-1 in Melanoma |
|
Principal Investigators: |
|
| • | Team Lead: Jedd D. Wolchok, M.D., Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
| • | James P. Allison, Ph.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center |
| • | Jonathan Cebon, Ph.D., Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research |
| • | Alexander Eggermont, M.D., Ph.D., Daniel den Hoed Cancer Center |
| • | Sacha Gnjatic, Ph.D., Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research |
| • | Dirk Jäger, M.D., University Hospital Heidelberg |
| • | Elke Jäger, Ph.D., Goethe University Frankfurt |
| • | Alexander Knuth, M.D., University of Zurich |
| • | Lloyd J. Old, M.D., Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research |
“We are energized by the quality of proposals we continue to receive from the melanoma research community. In this latest round of grants, we are pleased to support seven multidisciplinary approaches that hold great potential to advance melanoma treatments,” said Suzanne Topalian, M.D., Chair of the MRA Grant Review Committee and Director of the Johns Hopkins Melanoma Program.
About the Melanoma Research Alliance: The Melanoma Research Alliance is a public charity formed under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the initial generous founding support of Debra and Leon Black. It supports an international, cross-disciplinary group of biomedical researchers possessing clinical and scientific expertise to explore, identify, and pursue innovative solutions to critical research issues leading to better treatments and a cure for patients with melanoma. For more information, please visit: www.melanomaresearchalliance.org.