This K24 renewal application for Molecular Genetics of Melanoma is an expansion of the candidate's previous K24 grant with greater scientific and mentorship investment in patient risk prediction through Next Generation sequencing and in the rapidly growing area of molecular therapeutics. The first five years of this K24 was instrumental in providing the candidate protected time to train investigators in patient-oriented research. The results of his research led to the first Bayes-Mendel risk prediction model in melanoma (MelaPRO) and the description of novel MITF and BAP1 mutations in melanoma-prone families. The candidate was able to mentor 19 individuals, publish 52 manuscripts and successfully compete for over $2.8 million in peer-reviewed grants. Since the initial K24 award in 2010, massive parallel sequencing technologies have become commonplace and genomic medicine is being deployed at the patient's bedside. This K24 renewal proposes to exploit the power of precision medicine to more comprehensively profile melanoma risk and to capitalize on newly-discovered molecular drivers to improve melanoma therapeutics. The scientific expansion builds upon the candidate's long-time experience with patient- oriented genetics investigation and affords him the opportunity to mentor trainees in new areas of interdisciplinary research. The tightly-woven multidisciplinary collaborations which already exist between the candidate and investigators at the MGH Analytic Translational Genetics Unit/Broad Institute and the MGH Cancer Center/Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapies will allow for (i) new opportunities to mentor and recruit trainees in unrelated fields into patient-oriented research, (i) access to patients and patient-derived material for analysis, (iii) well-defined infrastructures to carry out the proposed studies and (iv) new areas of funding not currently in the candidate's portfolio. This award will also enable the candidate to develop new areas of expertise, to codify new approaches to mentorship and to take on new directions in patient-oriented research.

Public Health Relevance

This K24 renewal application, Molecular Genetics of Melanoma, takes on new and expanded directions in melanoma risk prediction and molecular therapeutics with the overall goal of enlarging the pool of young patient-oriented researchers in contemporary cancer investigation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24)
Project #
2K24CA149202-06
Application #
8822007
Study Section
Subcommittee I - Transistion to Independence (NCI)
Program Officer
Radaev, Sergei
Project Start
2010-05-01
Project End
2020-04-30
Budget Start
2015-05-19
Budget End
2016-04-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Massachusetts General Hospital
Department
Type
DUNS #
073130411
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
Klebanov, Nikolai; Reddy, Bobby Y; Husain, Sameera et al. (2018) Cutaneous Presentation of Mesothelioma With a Sarcomatoid Transformation. Am J Dermatopathol 40:378-382
Karagianni, Fani; Njauw, Ching-Ni; Kypreou, Katerina P et al. (2018) CDKN2A/CDK4 Status in Greek Patients with Familial Melanoma and Association with Clinico-epidemiological Parameters. Acta Derm Venereol 98:862-866
Eliades, Philip; Abraham, Brian J; Ji, Zhenyu et al. (2018) High MITF Expression Is Associated with Super-Enhancers and Suppressed by CDK7 Inhibition in Melanoma. J Invest Dermatol 138:1582-1590
Bartenstein, Diana W; Kelleher, Cassandra M; Friedmann, Alison M et al. (2018) Contrasting features of childhood and adolescent melanomas. Pediatr Dermatol 35:354-360
Roh, Mi Ryung; Eliades, Philip; Gupta, Sameer et al. (2017) Cutaneous melanoma in women. Int J Womens Dermatol 3:S11-S15
Roh, Mi Ryung; Park, Kyu-Hyun; Chung, Kee Yang et al. (2017) Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter mutations in Korean melanoma patients. Am J Cancer Res 7:134-138
Artomov, Mykyta; Stratigos, Alexander J; Kim, Ivana et al. (2017) Rare Variant, Gene-Based Association Study of Hereditary Melanoma Using Whole-Exome Sequencing. J Natl Cancer Inst 109:
Reddy, Bobby Y; Miller, David M; Tsao, Hensin (2017) Somatic driver mutations in melanoma. Cancer 123:2104-2117
Tsao, Hensin; Fukunaga-Kalabis, Mizuho; Herlyn, Meenhard (2017) Recent Advances in Melanoma and Melanocyte Biology. J Invest Dermatol 137:557-560
Haugh, Alexandra M; Njauw, Ching-Ni; Bubley, Jeffrey A et al. (2017) Genotypic and Phenotypic Features of BAP1 Cancer Syndrome: A Report of 8 New Families and Review of Cases in the Literature. JAMA Dermatol 153:999-1006

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