Articles by Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement
For Melanoma Researcher Dr. Betina Yanez, It’s All About the Journey
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 27 July 2020 In Science
If you close your eyes and imagine what a melanoma researcher looks like, Dr. Betina Yanez is probably not what you imagine. That’s because Dr. Yanez, a health psychologist by training, isn’t your typical melanoma researcher. Instead of researching new treatment targets or experimental combination therapies, she focuses on patient experience and quality of life.
Putting Her Faith in Research & Her Doctor
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 23 July 2020 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
All things considered, things are looking up for Margaret Oplinger. A marble-sized tumor is all that’s left of her Stage 4 melanoma; and her ongoing treatment, every-other week with nivolumab (Opdivo®), will hopefully enable her immune system to attack – and eliminate – this last remnant.
Painting a Portrait of the Melanoma Clinical Trial Participant
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 26 June 2020 In Allies & Partnerships
MRA Chief Science Officer Marc Hurlbert, MRA Director of Communications Cody Barnett, and Antidote's Head of Partnerships Lindsey Wahlstrom-Edwards discuss what matters most to melanoma patients when it comes to participating in clinical trials.
From Dermatology to Treatment: Second Opinions, Clinical Trials & becoming Your Own Best Advocate
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 29 May 2020 In Melanoma Stories, Science, Treatment
Through his journey with melanoma, Patrick has learned the importance of always being his own best advocate, getting second opinions, and considering clinical trials.
Facing Melanoma Together
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 20 May 2020 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories
Measuring the progress of melanoma research through numbers isn’t hard. What’s harder to quantify – or to even put into words – is the individual impact that this research makes in the lives of patients and their loved ones. It's this human impact that Facing Melanoma Together, a series of black and white photographs, helps bring to the forefront.
From Anger to Hope – One Uveal Melanoma Patient’s Journey
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 20 May 2020 In Melanoma Stories
Unlike many of the stories featured by CureMelanoma.org, Melody Burchett’s journey with melanoma didn’t start at her dermatologist’s office. Instead, Melody's journey with melanoma began with a pair of broken glasses that needed replacing, ASAP.
Putting Healthy Skin First - L’Oréal Active Cosmetics Division & MRA Strengthen Longstanding L’Oréal and MRA Partnership
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 1 May 2020 In Allies & Partnerships, News, Science
Some partnerships just make sense. For example, L’Oréal-owned SkinCeuticals, CeraVe and La Roche-Posay apart of the L’Oreal Active Cosmetics Division and MRA both share a mission and ethos for promoting healthy skin. It is no surprise that the two are longtime partners in the fight against melanoma. In fact, these brands and MRA have just announced an expanded partnership just in time for Melanoma Awareness Month.
MRA Announces $11 Million for 26 Grant Awards to Advance Melanoma Research
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 30 April 2020 In News, Science
With the world’s attention focused on the response to COVID-19, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) knows that long after this pandemic has ended, melanoma research will still be urgently needed. To this end, and in recognition of Melanoma Awareness Month, the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), the largest non-profit funder of melanoma research, is proud to announce funding for 26 research awards totaling $10.9 million.
To the Twilight Zone & Back – Ian Schuman’s Story
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 31 March 2020 In Melanoma Stories
For Ian Schuman, the news of his melanoma diagnosis came as a shock. For him, it all started in the spring of 2018 when he noticed a small lump on his left collar bone. As part of preliminary testing before the surgery to remove it, he also had a biopsy.
Dr. Villanueva Takes Aim at NRAS Mutant Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 28 March 2020 In Melanoma Stories, Science, Treatment
When Dr. Villanueva began her work in melanoma, some 15 years ago, it was the perfect scientific challenge. How could a disease be so aggressive – and still be such a mystery?
Then things got personal.
About the Author
Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement
Cody Barnett, MPH serves as the Director of Communications & Patient Engagement at the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA). In this role, he works to develop and cultivate strategies, messages, and stories that propel MRA and its mission forward. In addition, he develops patient-friendly articles, tools, and resources that demystify new research advances and make them actionable. Cody is responsible for media relations, web and social marketing, publications and materials development, and organizational branding. He is committed to using the power of storytelling and patient-centered thinking to advance melanoma research and improve patient outcomes.
Before joining the Melanoma Research Alliance, Cody served as Director of Communications at AIDS United, where he directed all internal, public, member, and online communications for the national HIV-focused organization. Previous to this, he managed digital communications for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s signature initiative, Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q).
Cody earned his Master of Public Health (MPH), concentrating in health policy, from The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in 2013 and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from York College of Pennsylvania.