Category: Allies & Partnerships
American Cancer Society and Melanoma Research Alliance Fund Five Innovative Approaches to Reduce Immunotherapy Side Effects
10 May 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Science
As the world marks Melanoma Awareness Month, the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) selected the first group of scientists to receive newly established research grants to investigate how to reduce rare, but serious, side effects resulting from cancer treatments with checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy.
Are Personalized Vaccines Part of a New Combination Approach to Treating Melanoma?
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 29 April 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Science
Bracing for cold weather and the threat of runny noses and sore throats, millions of Americans are vaccinated for the flu each year. By priming the immune system, the vaccine reduces the risk of catching the flu and, if not successful at preventing it altogether, reduces both the severity and the duration of symptoms. These are ‘one-size-fits-all’ vaccines that are useful for all people. But what if each and every person’s flu, like each person’s melanoma, was unique? You’d need a personalized vaccine that was made and customized for each individual. Dr. Patrick Ott, Clinical Director of the Melanoma Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and lead researcher on the BJ's Wholesale Club-MRA Team Science Award, is conducting pioneering research to harness the power of personalized vaccines to combat melanoma.
Your Opportunity to Help Advance Melanoma Research
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 24 April 2018 In Allies & Partnerships
Beyond protecting yourself through sun-safety and skin-checks – one of the best ways you can observe Melanoma Awareness Month is by raising funds to support melanoma research!
Embrace Your Skin and Don't Be Anything that You Aren't
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 10 April 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories
This freckled red head was never meant to be tan, but it didn’t stop her from trying. Stefani Schuetz just wanted that ‘perfect glow’ that she hoped would help her fit in after moving to Florida. She was training for a triathalon – a race requiring swimming, cycling, and running – with her sister when everything changed. Her sister thought she saw a bug on the back of her leg – but this bug turned out to be much worse. Instead of a bug, Stefani found a suspect mole that she’d never noticed before. She knew she had to get it checked out, but money was tight for this single Mom; it took her four months to make it to the dermatologist for a biopsy.
Creating a New Generation of Melanoma Models
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 8 January 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Science
We all can remember the eruption that happened when our 1st grade science teacher combined vinegar and baking soda together to represent a volcano. In some ways, this is just like experiments that take place every day in the search for better treatments, and ultimately a cure, for melanoma. In both instances, the researcher uses models to represent systems and phenomena that would otherwise be difficult or unethical to touch, see, or manipulate. Models are powerful things and we use them every day to make things easier to understand. In science, modeling is an essential component of our scientific process.
Introducing Clinical Trial Navigator: Start Searching Today
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 5 December 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, News, Science, Treatment
At MRA, we know that advancing science is our best bet in the fight against melanoma. More than 87,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with melanoma this year, and with these numbers on the rise, researchers are working harder than ever to find new and better treatment options. In fact, there are over 300 clinical trials happening in melanoma right now.
Connecting the Dots – Clinical Trials and Patient Engagement
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 15 November 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News
MRA is thrilled to announce the launch of the Melanoma > Exchange, a melanoma treatment and research focused discussion group and support community. Through the Melanoma > Exchange, anyone touched by Melanoma can find support, ask questions, and build community among people who share a similar experience.
MRA Raises Millions of Dollars for Groundbreaking Melanoma Research
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 5 November 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Events
Normally, when people are at a Sotheby’s auction, they come to bid on beautiful and rare art. On Nov. 2nd, however, more than 240 people came together at Sotheby’s Headquarters in New York City to raise their paddle in the fight against melanoma. Together, participants raised over $20 million to further advance melanoma research.
Safe and Sound: Balancing Safety with Innovation in American Sunscreens
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 10 October 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Policy, Prevention
Currently, Americans have access to 16 sunscreen active ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent skin cancer. The last time a new OTC (Over the Counter) sunscreen ingredient was added to the FDA sunscreen monograph was 1999. Meanwhile, Europeans have access to 29 sunscreen active ingredients. In the United States there are currently eight new sunscreen ingredients that are pending FDA review, which have been used in Europe – many for over ten years. These new, and potentially better, active ingredients could allow sunscreens to last longer and provide better full spectrum coverage that could help us reverse trends of increasing melanoma incidence in this country. Unlike in Europe where sunscreens are classified as cosmetics, in the United States the FDA is required to evaluate all active ingredients in sunscreens as OTC drugs. Meaning, that all U.S. sunscreen ingredients must be found generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) in the same manner as other OTC medications. The FDA says that this is critical to keeping us safe, but is it possible to balance innovation and safety?
L’Oréal Paris USA-MRA Team Scientists shed light on how melanoma spreads
By Kristen Mueller, PhD | 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.