The Skin Cancer Foundation, located in New York, NY, has awarded $85,000 in grants for Skin Cancer Research. The Foundation hosted its annual Member Reception in March at the Castle Hotel in Orlando, FL, during the 2017 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
During the reception, the Foundation inducted new members into the Amonette Circle, the Robins Fund, and the Funds for the Advancement of Mohs Surgery. The Foundation also announced the winners of its annual research grant awards.
At the event, Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, The Skin Cancer Foundation’s president, announced that 19 physicians would be inducted into the Foundation’s membership program (Figure 1). “One of my goals as president is to grow the Foundation’s membership program, so I’m delighted that we have so many new members joining us tonight,” said Dr Sarnoff. “Our dermatologist members are really at the heart of everything we do, and we appreciate their dedication to The Skin Cancer Foundation’s cause.”
Funding Research
David Polsky, MD, chair of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Research Grants Committee, led the research grants award presentations. Four researchers received a combined $85,000 in grants for their work in the field of skin cancer research.
Jesse Miller Lewin, MD, of Columbia University, received The Skin Cancer Foundation Research Award of $10,000, for his Postoperative Phone Calls, Patient Satisfaction and Quality Improvement in Dermatologic Surgery (Figure 2).
“The study aims to determine if a postoperative phone call on the night of or day following Mohs surgery improves patient satisfaction with their experience and their surgical scar,” said Dr Lewin in his research plans. “It is my impression that some Mohs surgeons routinely call patients during the postoperative period, yet this is not a uniform practice.”
Dr Lewin noted that in his experience making postoperative calls patients express a mixture of surprise, relief, and gratitude. This prompted his interest in scientifically investigating the impact of these phone calls. “Through this study, I hope to determine if the postoperative telephone call has statistically significant benefits on patient satisfaction and would thus improve best practice and the standard of dermatologic surgical care. In addition, this survey study will capture data regarding skin cancer type, patient age and sex, number of Mohs stages, wait times, type of reconstruction, and anatomic site—which will also be analyzed to see which if any of these factors are independently predictive of or associated with patient satisfaction or scar satisfaction,” he said.
This study is the initial effort in a series of projects with the goal of measuring patient satisfaction, quality improvement, and studying clinical outcome measures in dermatologic surgery. “In addition, I hope to determine whether the other captured variables of the procedure are predictive of subsets of Mohs patients who may be more likely to be dissatisfied. By identifying this subset, surgeons can target this group of patients with interventions that may enhance their experience. The patients enrolling in this study are already undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery for treatment of their cutaneous malignancies.”
Yuri Bunimovich, MD, PhD, of University of Pittsburgh, was awarded the The Ashley Trenner Research Grant Award of $25,000, for research on Neuroglial and Neuronal Regulation of Melanoma Progression.
Dr Bunimovich noted that high risk melanoma can be surgically treated, but the recurrence and mortality rates remain high. “We have discovered a new role that Schwann cells and the regenerating nerves play in promoting melanoma invasion and metastasis. Blocking Schwann cell-driven nerve repair is a novel strategy to decrease melanoma progression, and our study will test several potential therapeutic targets to accomplish this goal,” he said.
As a dermatologist specializing in treating patients with melanoma, Dr Bunimovich said he is always thinking about novel therapeutic strategies to reduce the progression of melanoma. “Skin has an exceptionally high density of nerves, and they must be interacting with melanoma in various ways. However, this interaction has never been rigorously investigated. We noticed that this area of research is new, and began to investigate how cutaneous nerves and glial cells promote melanoma progression,” he said.
Understanding how melanoma and other types of skin cancer rely on cutaneous nerves for tumor development and progression may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat these cancers. “I am specifically interested in finding new ways to treat high risk melanoma, which has a high recurrence and mortality rates,” he added.
Christina Lee Chung, MD, of Drexel University College of Medicine, received The Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Research Award Society of $25,000 for her research on Skin Cancer in Nonwhite Organ Transplant Recipients: Identifying a High-Risk Population (Figure 3).
“Our research will be a collaborative effort between the International Skin Cancer Collaborative and Skin Care in Organ Transplant Patients Europe organizations to identify the types of skin cancer, rates of occurrence, and risk factors that contribute to the development of skin cancer in a multicenter, international cohort of nonwhite organ transplant recipients from in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America,” explained Dr Lee Chung. “We are also utilizing our study to function as a pilot database that will serve as beta testing for a future transplant dermatology registry for skin cancer and skin diseases in organ transplant recipients of all races and ethnicities.”
While it is well known that organ transplant recipients are at significantly increased risk for skin cancer and other skin conditions, very little was known about how these conditions affected nonwhite transplant recipients. “This is problematic because more than half of the 120,000 Americans on the waiting list for organs identify as nonwhite. Our center, the Drexel Dermatology Center for Transplant Patients, provides posttransplant dermatological care to every patient who is transplanted by and/or followed by the Drexel University and Hahnemann University Hospital Transplant Programs. All patients, regardless of race, are screened annually for skin cancer, which is one of the only models of its kind in the country,” she said.
Analysis has revealed marked differences that Lee Chung and colleagues have published in JAMA Dermatology. “However, we need to further expand upon and validate our findings in a larger group of patients,” she said.
She noted that this research potentially could impact dermatology in numerous ways, including the development of skin cancer screening protocols and risk stratification protocols that are inclusive of or specific to the nonwhite transplant population. In addition, it could lead to a departure from practicing posttransplant dermatology with a one-size fits all mentality. “The types of skin diseases affecting transplant patients may be similar between races, my group’s initial findings suggest optimal management may be race- and ethnicity-specific, and we are hoping to corroborate this with the results of this research,” she said.
Potentially, a race- and ethnicity-specific examination protocols could be developed. “For instance, it is imperative for dermatologists to thoroughly examine the groin, genital, and perianal areas in the nonwhite transplant population for skin cancer, which is in contrary to the traditional focus on sun-exposed areas for fair-skinned patients,” Dr Lee Chung explained.
Finally, she noted, this research could lead to the identification of the relationship of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of skin cancer in nonwhite organ transplant recipients and give serious consideration to the utility of HPV vaccination in the pre-transplant period for this patient population.
Neda Nikbakht, MD, PhD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, was awarded The Todd Nagel Memorial Award of $25,000 for research on Epigenetic and Immunologic Modulators in Melanoma.
Dr Nikbakht explained, “With this project, I will investigate how melanoma cells respond to a novel class of drugs called Bromodomain and Extra Terminal domain (BET) inhibitors. The first aim of this work is to determine how BET inhibitors cause changes in gene expression in melanoma cells and establish how some melanoma cells acquire resistance to this class of drugs. The second aim is to investigate how BET inhibitors alter immune responses to melanoma and to establish if BET inhibitors improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in melanoma.”
Previously, Dr Nikbakht’s research in immunology was focused on competitive forces that shape lymphoid niches and the dynamic microenvironment of germinal centers. “My current interest is to utilize similar strategies to study how the melanoma immune suppressive microenvironment is established and maintained, and how it changes in response to treatment. Investigating BET inhibitors uniquely fits this purpose, as they are epigenetic modulators that influence both tumor cells and immune cells.”
The proposed work will contribute to the general understanding of how melanoma tumors survive, develop resistance to inhibitors, and modify the immune response to their advantage, she added.
The Skin Cancer Foundation, located in New York, NY, has awarded $85,000 in grants for Skin Cancer Research. The Foundation hosted its annual Member Reception in March at the Castle Hotel in Orlando, FL, during the 2017 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
During the reception, the Foundation inducted new members into the Amonette Circle, the Robins Fund, and the Funds for the Advancement of Mohs Surgery. The Foundation also announced the winners of its annual research grant awards.
At the event, Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, The Skin Cancer Foundation’s president, announced that 19 physicians would be inducted into the Foundation’s membership program (Figure 1). “One of my goals as president is to grow the Foundation’s membership program, so I’m delighted that we have so many new members joining us tonight,” said Dr Sarnoff. “Our dermatologist members are really at the heart of everything we do, and we appreciate their dedication to The Skin Cancer Foundation’s cause.”
Funding Research
David Polsky, MD, chair of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Research Grants Committee, led the research grants award presentations. Four researchers received a combined $85,000 in grants for their work in the field of skin cancer research.
Jesse Miller Lewin, MD, of Columbia University, received The Skin Cancer Foundation Research Award of $10,000, for his Postoperative Phone Calls, Patient Satisfaction and Quality Improvement in Dermatologic Surgery (Figure 2).
“The study aims to determine if a postoperative phone call on the night of or day following Mohs surgery improves patient satisfaction with their experience and their surgical scar,” said Dr Lewin in his research plans. “It is my impression that some Mohs surgeons routinely call patients during the postoperative period, yet this is not a uniform practice.”
Dr Lewin noted that in his experience making postoperative calls patients express a mixture of surprise, relief, and gratitude. This prompted his interest in scientifically investigating the impact of these phone calls. “Through this study, I hope to determine if the postoperative telephone call has statistically significant benefits on patient satisfaction and would thus improve best practice and the standard of dermatologic surgical care. In addition, this survey study will capture data regarding skin cancer type, patient age and sex, number of Mohs stages, wait times, type of reconstruction, and anatomic site—which will also be analyzed to see which if any of these factors are independently predictive of or associated with patient satisfaction or scar satisfaction,” he said.
This study is the initial effort in a series of projects with the goal of measuring patient satisfaction, quality improvement, and studying clinical outcome measures in dermatologic surgery. “In addition, I hope to determine whether the other captured variables of the procedure are predictive of subsets of Mohs patients who may be more likely to be dissatisfied. By identifying this subset, surgeons can target this group of patients with interventions that may enhance their experience. The patients enrolling in this study are already undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery for treatment of their cutaneous malignancies.”
Yuri Bunimovich, MD, PhD, of University of Pittsburgh, was awarded the The Ashley Trenner Research Grant Award of $25,000, for research on Neuroglial and Neuronal Regulation of Melanoma Progression.
Dr Bunimovich noted that high risk melanoma can be surgically treated, but the recurrence and mortality rates remain high. “We have discovered a new role that Schwann cells and the regenerating nerves play in promoting melanoma invasion and metastasis. Blocking Schwann cell-driven nerve repair is a novel strategy to decrease melanoma progression, and our study will test several potential therapeutic targets to accomplish this goal,” he said.
As a dermatologist specializing in treating patients with melanoma, Dr Bunimovich said he is always thinking about novel therapeutic strategies to reduce the progression of melanoma. “Skin has an exceptionally high density of nerves, and they must be interacting with melanoma in various ways. However, this interaction has never been rigorously investigated. We noticed that this area of research is new, and began to investigate how cutaneous nerves and glial cells promote melanoma progression,” he said.
Understanding how melanoma and other types of skin cancer rely on cutaneous nerves for tumor development and progression may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat these cancers. “I am specifically interested in finding new ways to treat high risk melanoma, which has a high recurrence and mortality rates,” he added.
Christina Lee Chung, MD, of Drexel University College of Medicine, received The Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Research Award Society of $25,000 for her research on Skin Cancer in Nonwhite Organ Transplant Recipients: Identifying a High-Risk Population (Figure 3).
“Our research will be a collaborative effort between the International Skin Cancer Collaborative and Skin Care in Organ Transplant Patients Europe organizations to identify the types of skin cancer, rates of occurrence, and risk factors that contribute to the development of skin cancer in a multicenter, international cohort of nonwhite organ transplant recipients from in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America,” explained Dr Lee Chung. “We are also utilizing our study to function as a pilot database that will serve as beta testing for a future transplant dermatology registry for skin cancer and skin diseases in organ transplant recipients of all races and ethnicities.”
While it is well known that organ transplant recipients are at significantly increased risk for skin cancer and other skin conditions, very little was known about how these conditions affected nonwhite transplant recipients. “This is problematic because more than half of the 120,000 Americans on the waiting list for organs identify as nonwhite. Our center, the Drexel Dermatology Center for Transplant Patients, provides posttransplant dermatological care to every patient who is transplanted by and/or followed by the Drexel University and Hahnemann University Hospital Transplant Programs. All patients, regardless of race, are screened annually for skin cancer, which is one of the only models of its kind in the country,” she said.
Analysis has revealed marked differences that Lee Chung and colleagues have published in JAMA Dermatology. “However, we need to further expand upon and validate our findings in a larger group of patients,” she said.
She noted that this research potentially could impact dermatology in numerous ways, including the development of skin cancer screening protocols and risk stratification protocols that are inclusive of or specific to the nonwhite transplant population. In addition, it could lead to a departure from practicing posttransplant dermatology with a one-size fits all mentality. “The types of skin diseases affecting transplant patients may be similar between races, my group’s initial findings suggest optimal management may be race- and ethnicity-specific, and we are hoping to corroborate this with the results of this research,” she said.
Potentially, a race- and ethnicity-specific examination protocols could be developed. “For instance, it is imperative for dermatologists to thoroughly examine the groin, genital, and perianal areas in the nonwhite transplant population for skin cancer, which is in contrary to the traditional focus on sun-exposed areas for fair-skinned patients,” Dr Lee Chung explained.
Finally, she noted, this research could lead to the identification of the relationship of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of skin cancer in nonwhite organ transplant recipients and give serious consideration to the utility of HPV vaccination in the pre-transplant period for this patient population.
Neda Nikbakht, MD, PhD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, was awarded The Todd Nagel Memorial Award of $25,000 for research on Epigenetic and Immunologic Modulators in Melanoma.
Dr Nikbakht explained, “With this project, I will investigate how melanoma cells respond to a novel class of drugs called Bromodomain and Extra Terminal domain (BET) inhibitors. The first aim of this work is to determine how BET inhibitors cause changes in gene expression in melanoma cells and establish how some melanoma cells acquire resistance to this class of drugs. The second aim is to investigate how BET inhibitors alter immune responses to melanoma and to establish if BET inhibitors improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in melanoma.”
Previously, Dr Nikbakht’s research in immunology was focused on competitive forces that shape lymphoid niches and the dynamic microenvironment of germinal centers. “My current interest is to utilize similar strategies to study how the melanoma immune suppressive microenvironment is established and maintained, and how it changes in response to treatment. Investigating BET inhibitors uniquely fits this purpose, as they are epigenetic modulators that influence both tumor cells and immune cells.”
The proposed work will contribute to the general understanding of how melanoma tumors survive, develop resistance to inhibitors, and modify the immune response to their advantage, she added.
The Skin Cancer Foundation, located in New York, NY, has awarded $85,000 in grants for Skin Cancer Research. The Foundation hosted its annual Member Reception in March at the Castle Hotel in Orlando, FL, during the 2017 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
During the reception, the Foundation inducted new members into the Amonette Circle, the Robins Fund, and the Funds for the Advancement of Mohs Surgery. The Foundation also announced the winners of its annual research grant awards.
At the event, Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, The Skin Cancer Foundation’s president, announced that 19 physicians would be inducted into the Foundation’s membership program (Figure 1). “One of my goals as president is to grow the Foundation’s membership program, so I’m delighted that we have so many new members joining us tonight,” said Dr Sarnoff. “Our dermatologist members are really at the heart of everything we do, and we appreciate their dedication to The Skin Cancer Foundation’s cause.”
Funding Research
David Polsky, MD, chair of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Research Grants Committee, led the research grants award presentations. Four researchers received a combined $85,000 in grants for their work in the field of skin cancer research.
Jesse Miller Lewin, MD, of Columbia University, received The Skin Cancer Foundation Research Award of $10,000, for his Postoperative Phone Calls, Patient Satisfaction and Quality Improvement in Dermatologic Surgery (Figure 2).
“The study aims to determine if a postoperative phone call on the night of or day following Mohs surgery improves patient satisfaction with their experience and their surgical scar,” said Dr Lewin in his research plans. “It is my impression that some Mohs surgeons routinely call patients during the postoperative period, yet this is not a uniform practice.”
Dr Lewin noted that in his experience making postoperative calls patients express a mixture of surprise, relief, and gratitude. This prompted his interest in scientifically investigating the impact of these phone calls. “Through this study, I hope to determine if the postoperative telephone call has statistically significant benefits on patient satisfaction and would thus improve best practice and the standard of dermatologic surgical care. In addition, this survey study will capture data regarding skin cancer type, patient age and sex, number of Mohs stages, wait times, type of reconstruction, and anatomic site—which will also be analyzed to see which if any of these factors are independently predictive of or associated with patient satisfaction or scar satisfaction,” he said.
This study is the initial effort in a series of projects with the goal of measuring patient satisfaction, quality improvement, and studying clinical outcome measures in dermatologic surgery. “In addition, I hope to determine whether the other captured variables of the procedure are predictive of subsets of Mohs patients who may be more likely to be dissatisfied. By identifying this subset, surgeons can target this group of patients with interventions that may enhance their experience. The patients enrolling in this study are already undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery for treatment of their cutaneous malignancies.”
Yuri Bunimovich, MD, PhD, of University of Pittsburgh, was awarded the The Ashley Trenner Research Grant Award of $25,000, for research on Neuroglial and Neuronal Regulation of Melanoma Progression.
Dr Bunimovich noted that high risk melanoma can be surgically treated, but the recurrence and mortality rates remain high. “We have discovered a new role that Schwann cells and the regenerating nerves play in promoting melanoma invasion and metastasis. Blocking Schwann cell-driven nerve repair is a novel strategy to decrease melanoma progression, and our study will test several potential therapeutic targets to accomplish this goal,” he said.
As a dermatologist specializing in treating patients with melanoma, Dr Bunimovich said he is always thinking about novel therapeutic strategies to reduce the progression of melanoma. “Skin has an exceptionally high density of nerves, and they must be interacting with melanoma in various ways. However, this interaction has never been rigorously investigated. We noticed that this area of research is new, and began to investigate how cutaneous nerves and glial cells promote melanoma progression,” he said.
Understanding how melanoma and other types of skin cancer rely on cutaneous nerves for tumor development and progression may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat these cancers. “I am specifically interested in finding new ways to treat high risk melanoma, which has a high recurrence and mortality rates,” he added.
Christina Lee Chung, MD, of Drexel University College of Medicine, received The Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Research Award Society of $25,000 for her research on Skin Cancer in Nonwhite Organ Transplant Recipients: Identifying a High-Risk Population (Figure 3).
“Our research will be a collaborative effort between the International Skin Cancer Collaborative and Skin Care in Organ Transplant Patients Europe organizations to identify the types of skin cancer, rates of occurrence, and risk factors that contribute to the development of skin cancer in a multicenter, international cohort of nonwhite organ transplant recipients from in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America,” explained Dr Lee Chung. “We are also utilizing our study to function as a pilot database that will serve as beta testing for a future transplant dermatology registry for skin cancer and skin diseases in organ transplant recipients of all races and ethnicities.”
While it is well known that organ transplant recipients are at significantly increased risk for skin cancer and other skin conditions, very little was known about how these conditions affected nonwhite transplant recipients. “This is problematic because more than half of the 120,000 Americans on the waiting list for organs identify as nonwhite. Our center, the Drexel Dermatology Center for Transplant Patients, provides posttransplant dermatological care to every patient who is transplanted by and/or followed by the Drexel University and Hahnemann University Hospital Transplant Programs. All patients, regardless of race, are screened annually for skin cancer, which is one of the only models of its kind in the country,” she said.
Analysis has revealed marked differences that Lee Chung and colleagues have published in JAMA Dermatology. “However, we need to further expand upon and validate our findings in a larger group of patients,” she said.
She noted that this research potentially could impact dermatology in numerous ways, including the development of skin cancer screening protocols and risk stratification protocols that are inclusive of or specific to the nonwhite transplant population. In addition, it could lead to a departure from practicing posttransplant dermatology with a one-size fits all mentality. “The types of skin diseases affecting transplant patients may be similar between races, my group’s initial findings suggest optimal management may be race- and ethnicity-specific, and we are hoping to corroborate this with the results of this research,” she said.
Potentially, a race- and ethnicity-specific examination protocols could be developed. “For instance, it is imperative for dermatologists to thoroughly examine the groin, genital, and perianal areas in the nonwhite transplant population for skin cancer, which is in contrary to the traditional focus on sun-exposed areas for fair-skinned patients,” Dr Lee Chung explained.
Finally, she noted, this research could lead to the identification of the relationship of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) in the development of skin cancer in nonwhite organ transplant recipients and give serious consideration to the utility of HPV vaccination in the pre-transplant period for this patient population.
Neda Nikbakht, MD, PhD, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, was awarded The Todd Nagel Memorial Award of $25,000 for research on Epigenetic and Immunologic Modulators in Melanoma.
Dr Nikbakht explained, “With this project, I will investigate how melanoma cells respond to a novel class of drugs called Bromodomain and Extra Terminal domain (BET) inhibitors. The first aim of this work is to determine how BET inhibitors cause changes in gene expression in melanoma cells and establish how some melanoma cells acquire resistance to this class of drugs. The second aim is to investigate how BET inhibitors alter immune responses to melanoma and to establish if BET inhibitors improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in melanoma.”
Previously, Dr Nikbakht’s research in immunology was focused on competitive forces that shape lymphoid niches and the dynamic microenvironment of germinal centers. “My current interest is to utilize similar strategies to study how the melanoma immune suppressive microenvironment is established and maintained, and how it changes in response to treatment. Investigating BET inhibitors uniquely fits this purpose, as they are epigenetic modulators that influence both tumor cells and immune cells.”
The proposed work will contribute to the general understanding of how melanoma tumors survive, develop resistance to inhibitors, and modify the immune response to their advantage, she added.
