The Melanoma Models Workshop in Washington, DC, will be organized by the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and chaired by leading academic and government cancer researchers, and will be held February 28, 2020. The landscape for melanoma research and treatment has changed dramatically over the last decade with the approval of new classes of treatments, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecularly targeted therapies. Despite this success, many patients with metastatic melanoma still succumb to the disease. To continue to advance melanoma research, appropriate model systems are needed that incorporate and accurately represent melanoma in the context of the new standards of care. The Melanoma Models Workshop aims to: (1) facilitate an exchange of ideas about how best to leverage and advance melanoma models to answer fundamental biological questions in melanoma, model patients with melanoma, and develop new technologies, (2) to increase collaborations between the leading research groups developing and deploying novel models for melanoma research, and (3) to educate the broader scientific community about the gaps and opportunities for melanoma research models. Melanoma models include mouse models (chemically-induced, genetically engineered, syngeneic mouse cell transplant, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models), non-mouse animal models (zebrafish, canine) and in vitro models (3D organoids, cell lines). We have actively ensured gender balance and diversity in the workshop co-chairs, invited speakers and participants. Importantly, 22 of the confirmed participants hold active funding from the NIH. The proposed workshop will be attended by trainees; junior and senior principal investigators; and will include leading scientists that serve on NIH study-sections and/or are members of the MRA Scientific Advisory Panel. Evaluation of the workshop will include one formative and one summative assessment survey. The formative assessment survey will be conducted prior to the workshop to solicit participant input into the most pressing research needs and technical challenges with current models. These data will be analyzed in advance and presented at the workshop. The summative assessment survey will be conducted following the workshop to understand what new ideas emerged, what was learned by attendees, what was effective, and what could be improved for future workshops. The evaluation data will inform dissemination activities and future workshops. Dissemination activities include submission of a manuscript of workshop proceedings to a cancer research journal and through a presentation at a national conference. In addition, MRA will prepare a lay summary report that will be featured in our monthly e-newsletter with a distribution to 12,000 individuals, and that will be made freely available on the MRA website which has over 55,000 monthly visitors.
The proposed Melanoma Models Workshop in Washington, DC, will be organized by the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) and chaired by leading academic and government cancer researchers. The landscape for melanoma research and treatment has changed dramatically over the last decade with the approval of new classes of treatments, including immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecularly targeted therapies. Thus, to continue to advance melanoma research to benefit patients, appropriate research model systems are needed that incorporate and accurately represent melanoma in the context of the new standards of care.
