Melanoma Survivor and Pro Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt Shares His “Game Plan” for Battling Cancer
By Your Cancer Game Plan | 19 September 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, Treatment
Mike Schmidt, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, is considered to be the greatest third baseman of all-time. As a professional athlete, he always felt invincible, but in 2013 a melanoma diagnosis threw him a curveball that he wasn’t prepared for.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Funds Two MRA Young Investigator Awards in Immuno-Oncology
By Kristen Mueller, Ph.D., MRA Scientific Program Director | 6 September 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Science, Treatment
MRA is pleased to announce Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has provided generous support for two Young Investigator Awards from our 2016-2017 grant cycle. The recipients of the Bristol-Myers Squibb - MRA Young Investigator Award are Dr. Erica Stone of The Wistar Institute and Dr. Manuel Valiente of Fundación Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas Carlos III. MRA’s independent panel of academic experts selected these two immuno-oncology research programs to receive funding in 2017.
A Mother’s Perspective: New Options for Pediatric Melanoma
By Cody R. Barnett, MRA Director of Communications | 6 September 2017 In Melanoma Stories, News, Treatment
When Cheryl Trocke’s nine-year old son Graham was diagnosed with melanoma four years ago, she quickly learned that when it comes to kids, there were no great treatment options and that care can vary greatly based on where your child is treated. After surgically removing the primary tumor, Graham’s doctors suggested a treatment plan of ‘wait and see.’
Measuring Progress: Skin Cancer Prevention in the United States
By Cody R. Barnett, MRA Director of Communications | 6 September 2017 In News, Prevention, Science
On July 29 2014, Dr. Boris Lushniak, the then acting U.S. Surgeon General at, issued a landmark call to action when he declared skin cancer as a major public health problem. He called on everyone, from government agencies to community-based organizations to schools to come together to increase awareness of skin cancer and ways to reduce risk. Since the Call to Action, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released an annual report each year documenting progress, celebrating success, and identifying areas where improvement is needed. The key areas of the Call to Action and the update from the CDC 2017 Progress Report are highlighted below.
Doubling Down: Brandon Barniea Bets Big on Combination Therapy
By Cody R. Barnett, MRA Director of Communications | 6 September 2017 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
Brandon Barniea didn’t believe he needed to visit doctors. The athletic 35-year-old had always been healthy – even when his wife and two kids were sick at home with the flu, he would miraculously avoid falling ill. So, when he found what felt like “beads” in his neck, reality came crashing in; following a biopsy, he was diagnosed first with stage III melanoma in August 2015 and later that year it progressed to stage IV.
L’Oréal Paris USA-MRA Team Scientists shed light on how melanoma spreads
By Kristen Mueller, Ph.D., MRA Scientific Program Director | 29 August 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Science, Treatment
MRA is extremely proud of the 289 investigators we have funded over the last decade and the exciting advances they have made toward ending suffering and death due to melanoma. While we can never highlight all of them at one time, we’re excited in this blog to highlight the work of the L’Oreal Paris USA sponsored MRA Team award.
MRA Announces its Tenth Annual Request for Proposals
By Kristen Mueller, Ph.D., MRA Scientific Program Director | 14 August 2017 In News, Science, Treatment
MRA is pleased to announce our 2017/18 Request for Proposals (RFP). As in prior years, MRA seeks high-impact pre-clinical, translational, and early clinical research that has the potential to lead to near-term impact in melanoma prevention, detection, diagnosis, staging, and treatment.
Why so much excitement about CAR-T cells?
By Kristen Mueller, Ph.D., MRA Scientific Program Director | 18 July 2017 In News, Science, Treatment
July 12, 2017, marked a historic day for medicine and for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when an expert advisory committee to the FDA unanimously endorsed the first ever genetically engineered, cell-based therapy for use in patients.
Melanoma Treatments: Breakthroughs for Multiple Cancers — for Real and Right Now
By Louise M. Perkins, Ph.D., MRA Chief Science Officer | 10 July 2017 In Science, Treatment
While 2014 and 2015 offered a whirlwind of good news related to new melanoma treatments from immune to targeted therapy, since then, it’s been a bit quieter in melanoma. Although there has been exceptional news in regard to other cancers. Why is that, and what are the latest breakthroughs?
Sunscreen Laws may Hinder Protecting Children from Exposure
By Pamela Goldsmith, MRA Director of Communications | 10 July 2017 In News, Policy, Prevention
With the launch of summer comes conventional discussion around ranking sunscreens, and chatter between the experts to parse what should be considered in choosing the most effective among them. It’s also a key conversation among parents heading into the season with an eye on protecting their children from sun exposure. Yet, something remaining a central concern among those parents is the public policy surrounding use of sunscreen in schools.