Supporting the Melanoma Community this Holiday Season and Beyond

From the desk of MRF CEO Kyleigh LiPira:

As we enter the final month of 2023, on behalf of the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) staff and board, we wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season. We know this time of year is hard for many of those in our community who have lost a loved one, are currently enduring treatments or are caring for a loved one with this disease. 

We aim to lighten the load for those carrying the burden of this disease and remain a valuable lifeline to the entire melanoma community with many resources available including: a treatment center finder, clinical trial finder, oncology nurse to answer questions by reaching out to AskANurse@melanoma.org, support groups, peer-to-peer patient forum and through our Education Institute, countless educational webinars on many topics related to cutaneous melanoma and its rarer subtypes and much more. In particular we have a new clinical trial animated melanoma patient video. This module hopes to bring awareness to clinical trials, explain what clinical trials are, how they are conducted and why they are so important for patients with melanoma. This is a great resource for all melanoma patients and caregivers.  

While we have made great strides in research and treatment and 50% of patients with metastatic cutaneous disease will have life extended to at least 5 years, these statistics are more dismal for those with the rare subtypes such as ocular, mucosal and acral. We must do better for our community and keep pushing the boundaries until we have a cure for all. We know there are many deserving organizations focused on important causes out there but hope you will consider investing with the MRF, an organization that aims to cure melanoma and is 100% funded by the community it serves. You can help extend our mission critical programs and resources by making a one-time or monthly recurring gift online. 

Thank you for sharing your stories, time, and energy with us. Centering patient and caregiver voices and perspectives in all our work is a key value of the MRF. We are grateful for your partnership and look forward to achieving great strides, working together, towards eradicating melanoma. 

With gratitude,

.

Westdyk Family Invests in Research for the Future

On November 1, the Legacy of Progress Endowment Fund was launched, marking a significant milestone in our fight against melanoma. This pioneering endeavor embodies our unwavering commitment to advancing melanoma research and ensuring a legacy of progress for generations to come.  

As we invite you to explore this initiative further, we want to share a powerful narrative that encapsulates the real impact of our mission. We invite you to watch a heartfelt video featuring several MRF Board members who have been personally impacted by melanoma. In this video, you'll meet Tom Westdyk, a MRF Board Member and parent of a courageous individual who embodied the spirit of resilience in the face of melanoma.

Hear Tom’s story of his son Chris’ journey. It is stories like Chris and many others who are the reason we created the Legacy of Progress Endowment Fund. Chris’ story not only underscores the strides made through research but also sheds light on the remaining opportunities for advancement in treatment options. It is people like Chris, who are at the heart of our mission, illustrating how your support has the power to create a meaningful impact in the lives of individuals touched by melanoma. 

The Legacy of Progress Endowment Fund is not merely a fund; it's a force for good. It will fuel ongoing and new research projects, academic studies, and scientific investigations. As donors contribute, envision your generosity as an investment in the future. The principal amount grows, forming a stable and enduring source of funding for scientific endeavors. This endowment ensures that vital research initiatives persist, even when traditional funding sources might be scarce. By creating a sustainable funding stream, we are not just dreaming; we are actively pushing the boundaries of what's possible.Your support today could be the driving force behind improved outcomes and one day a cure. 

We hope that you will consider donating today to become a member of the Legacy of Progress Society. You can learn more about ways to donate by visiting www.melanoma.org/endowment and/or reach out to Liz Reilly, Sr. Development Officer at lreilly@melanoma.org with questions.  

Your gift. Your legacy. Our mission.  

Announcing Recent Grantees and Notice of Upcoming MRF Grants – Apply Now!

We are delighted to announce this year’s Breakthrough Consortium (BC) Young Investigator Team Award to Kristen Richards, MD (MDACC; mentor: Anisha Patel, MD), Kristen Pauken, PhD (MDACC; mentor: Padmanee Sharma, MD, PhD), and Noah Hornick, MD, PhD (Oregon Health & Science University; mentor: Amy Moran, PhD) for their research project titled, “Evaluation of cutaneous immune related adverse events by morphotype.” Their work is focused on elucidating the cell types and signals that cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in the skin, with the hope of ultimately allowing doctors to choose treatments for irAEs that are as targeted as possible and less likely to impact patients’ melanoma treatments. We are thankful for the generosity of Bristol Myers Squibb for sponsoring the 2023 MRFBC Young Investigator Team Award.  

Mid-Career Bridge Grants are accepted until December 15th, 2023, at 5pm ET. This award will be for established melanoma researchers with pre-existing R01s, who have applied for a NIH R01 grant that was scored, but not funded. To support and sustain these investigators while they generate the data for the Response to Reviewers in the revised R01 (A1) submission, the MRF is offering bridge funding of up to $100,000 for one year.Additional information can be found in the 2023 Mid-Career Bridge Grant RFP on our website.

New this Year! Resident/Fellow Research Grant applications for 2024 grants will be accepted until January 31, 2024, at 5pm ET. The purpose of these 1-year, $10,000 awards is to promote research opportunities to resident/fellows early in their careers by funding clinical or laboratory-based research projects focused on better understanding the prevention, early detection, behaviors that impact melanoma risk, biology and treatment of melanoma, including cutaneous, ocular, mucosal, pediatric, etc. Additional information can be found in the 2024 Resident/ Fellow Grant RFP on our website and Proposal Central.   

For all questions about research funding opportunities or any aspect of the MRF research program, please email research@melanoma.org. 

Advancing Science Through Research Grants

What better gift than the gift of research! This year, name a research grant in honor or memory of a loved one!  

The MRF has funded approximately $25 million in peer-reviewed research grants to-date, including one-year, $3,000 Medical Student Grants and our newest $10,000 Resident Fellow Grant for bright young people who are interested in researching melanoma. In 2023, we awarded the highest number of Medical Student grant awards to date, 4 of which were focused on rare melanoma research! The 2024 medical student research applications are currently under review; other 2024 grant programs are or soon will be completed. Donors are able to have a grant named in memory or honor of a loved one or any other name. For more information, please contact Liz Reilly at lreilly@melanoma.org. Limited opportunities are available. 

To learn more about our full Research Grant program, visit the Research Grant RFP page.