(From left) Elizabeth Gaughan, MD, and Craig Slingluff, MD
UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center (UVACCC) was recently accepted as a member of the Melanoma Research Foundation Breakthrough Consortium (MRFBC), a group of 30 top institutions pursuing new and enhanced therapies for the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The Melanoma Research Foundation was founded in 1996 to eradicate the disease. It supports medical research, educates the general public, and advocates for melanoma patients. The Melanoma Research Foundation established the MRFBC in 2010 in response to the growing need for new and enhanced combination therapies to treat the main types of the disease: cutaneous, ocular, mucosal, pediatric, adolescent and young adult, and acral melanoma.
MRFBC member institutions have demonstrated excellence in peer-reviewed research and treatment development. They partner to advance melanoma research and strengthen encouraging treatments. Over the last decade, UVACCC has received significant funding dedicated to translational melanoma research from the National Cancer Institute, the Melanoma Research Foundation, the Department of Defense, and other preeminent peer-reviewed organizations. These funds have supported over 50 clinical trials, 15 of which are ongoing.
UVA’s Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations, which aims to advance research by assisting faculty members as they create and foster relationships with corporations, facilitated UVACCC’s induction into the MRFBC.
UVACCC’s membership will enrich its commitment to excellence in cancer research, treatment and education. Cancer Center faculty will have access to new funding opportunities, including awards for team science, established investigators, career development, pilot projects, residents and fellows and medical students. They can also participate in collaborative clinical trials and MRFBC meetings for cancer treatment idea exchange and thought leadership.
Elizabeth Gaughan, MD, Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology, and Craig Slingluff, MD, Professor of Surgery, will act as UVACCC’s representatives at meetings, events and symposia. Both are national leaders in the fields of melanoma research and treatment.
Dr. Gaughan is a medical oncologist who has been treating melanoma patients at UVA since 2012. She is also the clinical lead for the Cancer Center’s Melanoma Translational Research Team and its Multidisciplinary Melanoma Clinical Team.
Dr. Slingluff is a surgical oncologist with more than 30 years of experience who has advanced melanoma vaccines as a therapeutic strategy through several clinical trials. He also serves as director of UVA’s Human Immune Therapy Center.
MRFBC membership will further the shared goals of the Cancer Center and the Melanoma Research Foundation to reduce the burden of cancer for the patients of today and eliminate the threat of melanoma for the patients of tomorrow.
Filed Under: Research