The Skin Cancer Foundation Hosts Annual Member Reception in Washington, D.C.

Mar 19th, 2019

The Skin Cancer Foundation hosted its annual Member Reception on March 1 at the Eaton Hotel in Washington, D.C., during the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting. As part of the reception, the Foundation announced the winners of its annual research grant awards.

In honor of the Foundation’s 40th birthday, the event’s theme was “1979.” A DJ played hits from the 1970s while guests chatted among disco balls and enjoyed birthday cupcakes. Skin Cancer Foundation President, Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, thanked the Foundation’s members for their commitment and encouraged them to share their passion for the Foundation’s work with others.

“As physicians, we all enter our field to help people,” said Dr. Sarnoff. “We are drawn to the science and the personalities we meet along the way. We all wish we had the time to do more for our patients, but we have bills to pay and regulations to follow. Practicing medicine has become complicated, but The Skin Cancer Foundation makes it easy to stay focused on people, by providing valuable information to help educate your patients.”

David Polsky, MD, chair of The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Research Grants Committee, led the research grant awards presentation.

“My fellow committee members and I are honored to award $125,000 among three worthy research projects,” said Dr. Polsky. “We have high hopes that the Foundation’s funding may give these young investigators the kick-start they need to accomplish great things. We wish them the best of success in moving skin cancer research ahead, improving and lengthening patients’ lives.”

The Skin Cancer Foundation’s grants program provides research funding to support dermatology department research and clinical studies related to skin cancer. The 2019 grant recipients are:

Stephanie Savory, MD
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center
“Practices and attitudes of primary care practitioners towards melanoma screening and education”
The Ashley Trenner Research Grant Award: $25,000

Shruti Naik, PhD
New York University
“Decoding the role of skin inflammation in susceptibility to carcinogen-induced DNA damage”
The Dr. Marcia Robbins-Wilf Research Award: $50,000

Rie Takahashi, MD, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
“Defining key metabolic pathways in high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas for early detection in immunocompromised patients”
The Todd Nagel Memorial Award: $50,000

For information about the Foundation’s Membership program, contact Brian Hanley at [email protected].

The Skin Cancer Foundation’s 2019 Member Reception was made possible due to the generous support of the night’s sponsors, Biofrontera and CeraVe.