Jessica Scales, PhD

Jessica Scales, PhD, serves as the Associate Director of Rare Melanoma Research for the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA). In this role, Jessica oversees MRA’s rare melanoma programs including the RARE registry, MRA Melanoma Biorepository, and Rare Melanoma Consortium to accelerate research and improve health outcomes for the rare and understudied melanoma subtypes. Jessica’s expertise, energy, and leadership is pivotal for advancing MRA’s rare melanoma initiatives and research efforts to expand treatment options and improve outcomes for patients with these rare subtypes. 

From her graduate and postdoctoral fellowships, Jess brings both cutaneous and rare melanoma research expertise to the MRA. She holds a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology from Brown University where she studied receptor-mediated signaling pathways that become dysregulated in uveal melanoma to identify new potential therapeutic targets. Following Jessica’s graduate training, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health, where she worked with cross-functional teams to investigate the contribution of novel and/or rare germline variants to melanoma predisposition in high-risk families, which has implications for early-detection strategies for patients with these variants.

Jessica brings additional expertise in a wide array of scientific disciplines, collaborative science, and project management through previous positions she held in government, academic, and industry laboratories. She earned her BS in Biology from Juniata College. Jessica lives in Washington, DC, and enjoys traveling, exploring the city with her friends, and spending time with her dog.