MRF Stewardship Report Volume 5 FINAL

MRF Stewardship Report Volume 5 FINAL

Fall 2021 / Volume 05 Stewardship Report

HOPE CHANGES EVERYTHING YEARS

Mission Statement

The MRF’s mission is to eradicate melanoma by accelerating medical RESEARCH while EDUCATING to and ADVOCATING for the melanoma community. This critical work is made possible by the steadfast commitment, constant innovation and unwavering generosity of a community united in the fight against melanoma.

Guided by the principles of responsible stewardship and continued progress, this report shares some recent highlights of what we have accomplished together.

25th Anniversary

Diana started the Melanoma Research Foundation to give hope to others in a time when there was very little hope for melanoma patients. She was inspired by her own journey, of course, and the absence of treatments that were available to her, but in the end it totally turned to others. It was pretty remarkable. — Jeff Ashby, Diana’s husband “ ”

“

I first became involved with the MRF like so many others, as a newly diagnosed patient looking for answers. The educational information, support and sense of community that I found at the MRF were invaluable to me during the most challenging time of my life. I’m honored to have the opportunity to give back to an organization that is unmatched in its commitment to melanoma patients and caregivers,

Diana and Jeff Ashby

while supporting the cutting-edge research advances that will lead us to a cure.

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) was founded in 1996 by Diana Ashby, a melanoma patient who was frustrated by the lack of treatment options and support resources available at the time. Diana’s vision was to give melanoma patients and caregivers a reason for hope. Twenty-five years later, her legacy lives on as the MRF has grown into the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma, funding more than $20 million in life-saving research and offering a powerful voice for the 1.3 million Americans living with melanoma.

”

Douglas Brodman, MRF Board Chair

Table of Contents

Research ...........................

COVID-19 Response ....

2

12

Melanoma Awareness Month ........

Rare Subtypes Research ...........................

5

13

Education and Awareness ..............

Partnerships and Supporters ............. 15

7

Rare Subtypes Education and Awareness ..............

Blending Mission and Family: The Silverstein Family Gift ........................

9

16

Advocacy ..........................

Community .....................

10

17

1

Research

ACCELERATING RESEARCH: GRANTS From basic science to clinical trials, from medical students to established investigators

Peer-reviewed research grants awarded in 2020/ 2021 supporting the investigator spectrum from emerging to established scientific investigators

$20.1 MILLION IN GRANT FUNDING TO DATE HAS SUPPORTED:

18

80 Medical Student Awards to date

204

22

Publications

Clinical Trials

89 Career Development Awards to date

Grants with new collaborations

409

83

Presentations

33 Established Investigator Awards to date

Grants with new funding

6

51

Patents

10 Team Awards to date

1998

2021

Over $20.1 million in research funding awarded through 217 grants to date.

The MRF awards its first research grant.

TIMELINE

2

Research

MRF PARTNERS WITH LEADERS IN MELANOMA

Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) The largest international melanoma organization

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) International clinical oncology network

The MRF sponsors annual investigator awards (11 to date) and a scientific satellite symposium. October 28, 2021

Kicked off the meeting with the annual MRF Breakthrough Consortium involving investigators from 22 centers of excellence in melanoma focused on translational research collaborations. June 4–8, 2021

American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) First and largest cancer research organization

MRF-funded research projects were presented at Annual Meeting; an MRF grant recipient presented the Presidential Address. April 27–28, 2021

3

Research

STRENGTHENING AND BUILDING THE FIELD OF MELANOMA RESEARCH Hosted 25th anniversary blog series to highlight MRF-funded researchers, including:

Kieran Smalley, PhD Melanoma Field Needs a Pipeline of Talented Young Scientists

Samantha Black Improving Melanoma

Richard D. Carvajal, MD Encouraging Progress in the Uveal Melanoma Field Screening Education for Primary Care Providers Serving Patients with Skin of Color

Genevieve Boland, MD, PhD and Keith Flaherty, MD The Impact of Research on Improving Patient Outcomes

Douglas B. Johnson, MD, MSCI Managing Immunotherapy- Related Side Effects

LATEST PUBLICATION IN CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : The State of Melanoma: Emergent Challenges and Opportunities

UPCOMING MEETINGS: • PD1/PDL1 resistance: a workshop bridging researchers in lung, kidney and melanoma cancers to design clinical trials for patients for whom initial anti-PD1/PDL1 therapies have failed • Melanoma brain metastases: the third MRF-sponsored summit will continue to build upon the foundation of the previous two summits resulting in strategies published in major journals • Defining pre-diagnostic tools for pigmented skin lesions

1998

2021

FDA approves IL-2 as the first immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma.

16 FDA-approved treatments are available, with more currently in development.

TIMELINE

4

Research RARE SUBTYPES

GRANTS AND AWARDS

LAUNCH OF VISION REGISTRY MAY 2021 WWW.VISIONREGISTRY.ORG

Medical Student Awards

2

Current Career Development Award application cycle includes specific awards for research focused on pediatric melanoma and mucosal melanoma. Career Development Awards Latest grant cycle funded two Medical Student Awards for acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) and mucosal melanoma.

A historic patient-reported ocular melanoma registry, uniting OM patients, caregivers and researchers around the world in the search for a cure. VISION will reveal new patterns, potential causes, treatment effects and outcomes to advance OM research.

2016 At CURE OM’s Eyes on a Cure Patient Symposium, researchers and patients identify a patient-reported registry as a critical need to advance OM research.

CURE OM launches the global, patient- reported VISION Registry uniting OM patients and researchers across the world.

2021

TIMELINE

5

Research RARE SUBTYPES

POSTERS AND PUBLICATIONS

THE LATEST ON UVEAL MELANOMA RESEARCH AND CLINICAL TRIALS: “Updates from the Cure Ocular Melanoma (CURE OM) Science Meeting” published in Clinical Cancer Research in January 2021.

“Uveal Melanoma Patient Attitudes Towards Prognostic Testing Using Gene Expression Profiling” poster presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). The poster presented >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22

www.melanoma.org

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