Dr. Tolaymat is assistant professor of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic Florida. She specializes in high risk skin cancers in organ transplant patients.

Dr. Sera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and Program Director for the Master of Science in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics (MCST) program at the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) School of Pharmacy. Dr. Sera received her PharmD from the UMB School of Pharmacy in 2010. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD, and a specialty residency in pain management and palliative care at UMB. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and completed a Master of Arts in Instructional Systems Development at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2017.

Elaine Stillwell is a melanoma caregiver and Wife of Stage 4 melanoma patient,

Dr. Ajebo is a board-certified dermatologist in the MedStar Health Department of Dermatology and an Assistance Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She obtained her medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, where she also compelted her internship and dermatology residency.  Her clinical interest includes pigmented lesions, melanoma, and non-melanoma skin cancers. She is a member of American Academy of Dermatology. 

Dr. Atkins began his career at Tufts before moving to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and being appointed Professor at Harvard Medical School where he served as Deputy Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and leader of the Biologic Therapy and Cutaneous Oncology Programs, Co-PI of the Harvard Skin Cancer SPORE, founding leader of the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer Program and Director of the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer SPORE.  In 2012, he moved to Georgetown where he is Deputy Director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, DC and William Scholl Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. He leads the Lombardi Immunotherapy/Heme Working Group and Chairs the IIT Steering Committee. His current research focuses on immunotherapy for melanoma and RCC and biomarkers for response and toxicity. He has published over 500 articles (H-Index 134) and 5 books and has lectured extensively on these topics.  He is past president of SITC, and past member of the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Council and the ASCO Nominating Committee. Currently he co-Chairs the Melanoma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Council and Chairs the Melanoma Research Alliance Clinical Advisory Board. He is a 2021 recipient of the OncLive Giant in Cancer Care Award for Melanoma and in 2022 received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Immunotherapy from SITC. He was recently inducted into SITC’s 2023 Class of Fellows of the Academy of Immuno-Oncology (FAIO) and in 2024 became a Fellow of ASCO (FASCO).

Min Deng, MD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology at MedStar Washington Hospital Center/Georgetown University Hospital. She serves as Director of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Residency Program Director. Dr. Deng’s clinical interests include cutaneous oncology, Mohs micrographic surgery, surgical training, and graduate medical education. She is an active fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery and member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Association of Professors of Dermatology, and American Academy of Dermatology.

Leonard has have been an oncology social worker at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center for the last 18 years.  He is certified in oncology social work and in palliative care social work. His passion is helping patients and those close to them navigate the difficult challenges and decisions that face them during all phases of their cancer treatment.

Kellie Gardner, CRNP, is an nurse practitioner specializing in medical oncology at MedStar Georgetown
University Hospital. Kellie received her undergraduate degree in nursing from
Lynchburg College. She went onto receive a master of science degree from
Georgetown University. Kellie is an oncology-certified nurse. 

Geoffrey T. Gibney, MD, is a co-leader of the Melanoma Disease Group at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and MedStar Cancer Network, and a member of the Developmental Therapeutics (Phase I) program. He is well known for treating patients with advanced non-melanoma skin cancers (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and merkel cell carcinoma), renal cell carcinoma and other rare skin cancers. Dr. Gibney is board certified in both internal medicine and medical oncology. He was previously a faculty member in the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.

Dr. Gibney is recognized for his advanced melanoma research. He is currently involved in several clinical trials focused on developing novel immunotherapy and targeted therapy strategies. Past clinical research has included the study of anti-PD-1 therapy to prevent recurrences of resected melanoma, combination immunotherapies (such as ipilimumab plus the novel IDO1 inhibitor, epacadostat) to enhance the clinical benefit in advanced melanoma patients and combination BRAF targeted therapy to overcome drug resistance.

His current goal is to develop biomarker-driven approaches for personalized therapeutic strategies in patients with advanced malignancies.

Dr. Giurintano is a fellowship-trained head and neck oncologic and microvascular reconstructive surgeon. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. His practice focuses on treatment of malignant and benign diseases affecting the head and neck as well as complex reconstruction of head and neck defects using microvascular surgical techniques. He is part of the cutaneous malignancy team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.

Dr. Suthee Rapisuwon is a leading medical oncologist specializing in melanoma, with a particular focus on uveal melanoma. Dr. Rapisuwon is leading an investigator initiated clinical trial, the HCRN-MEL17-309 study, a Phase II multi-center trial investigating the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with high-risk uveal melanoma. This research aims to enhance therapeutic strategies and improve patient outcomes for this aggressive form of eye cancer. Dr. Rapisuwon has recently presented significant findings at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, contributing to the advancement of melanoma treatment and patient care.

Marcelo Sleiman Jr is a Program Manager in Cancer Prevention and Control at Georgetown Lombardi. He joined Dr. Tercyak in 2022 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in Biostatistics. Mr. Sleiman has a particular interest in behavioral and preventive medicine, including the primary prevention of skin cancer. He manages multiple projects focusing on themes of youth and family cancer control, high-risk populations, and the study of health outcomes among marginalized and underserved communities. Mr. Sleiman intends to apply to medical school, enjoys exercising in his leisure time, and celebrates his Brazilian heritage through cooking.

Dr. Tercyak is a tenured Professor in the Departments of Oncology and Pediatrics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. At Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Tercyak serves as Co-Leader of the NCI-designated Cancer Prevention and Control research program. He is a member of the Fisher Center for Hereditary Cancer and Clinical Genomics Research, a Senior Scholar at the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development and is on the faculty of the Department of Psychology. His research focuses on developmental and biobehavioral aspects of cancer risk, communication, and intervention, including public health genomics, tobacco control, and skin cancer prevention. He is the Principal Investigator of a new 5-year grant from the National Cancer Institute: it is a cluster-randomized trial of sun safety prevention for young children and their families living in rural and underserved communities.

Dr. Ruiz de Luzuriaga is a board certified dermatologistand dermatopathologist. She is interested in epidemiologic studies in dermatology anddermatopathology, clinical informatics, and the use of information technology for theimprovement of patient care, diagnosis and treatment algorithms, quality improvement,and medical education. Her clinical focus is on total body photography, dermatoscopy,skin cancer surveillance, and melanoma prevention and early detection. She hopes toexplore the decision-making experience surrounding ambiguous melanocytic neoplasms, andhow patients and dermatologists incorporate additional data from novelancillary diagnostic tests for melanocytic lesions.

Jeffrey Whitridge is a medical professional that works in the field of nutrition.  He has been practicing clinical nutrition and dietetics for over 25 years.  Jeffrey has been monitoring and surveilling his skin and mole integrity for over 20 years.  Jeffrey enjoys being active, travel and of course eats a plant forward diet.

Dr. Nelson is an Associate Professor of Dermatology with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she leads the Early Melanoma Detection research team. Her research seeks to reduce melanoma diagnostic disparities in areas of Texas with no dermatologists and combines geospatial imaging, educational theory approaches and image annotation to support machine learning diagnosis. She also serves as the Associate Medical Director of the Melanoma and Skin clinic at MD Anderson. 

Jenn lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. At age 28, she was originally diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma and after a year of adjuvant immunotherapy treatment, she had a recurrence which put her at stage 4. She then went on the combination of Yervoy & Opdivo for another year. At the end of that second year of infusions, she had surgery to remove the last stubborn tumor and she’s been NED for almost 7 years. 

During the early days right after her diagnosis, she came across the MRF’s website and patient forum. That's where she found a community that truly helped her understand melanoma and made her feel a lot less alone. She’s continued to share her story as often as possible in the hopes that it will help other young adults understand the importance of skin checks, advocating for their health, and that being young does not exclude them from a diagnosis like melanoma. 

Dr. Allison Betof Warner is Director of the Melanoma Program, Director of Solid Tumor Cellular Therapy, and Mark & Mary Stevens Endowed Scholar in Melanoma at Stanford Cancer Institute. Dr. Betof completed her MD and PhD at Duke University, Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard University) and Medical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Betof’s laboratory focuses on understanding resistance to immune checkpoint blockade and cellular therapies for melanoma and other solid tumors. She is the Principal Investigator of clinical trials exploring novel treatments for immunotherapy-refractory melanoma and is internationally recognized for her expertise in brain/CNS metastasis and the use of novel cellular therapies. Dr. Betof has been a pioneer in the use of commercial tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for the treatment of melanoma and other solid tumors. She has received funding and awards for her clinical and translational investigative work from multiple high-profile organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Melanoma Research Foundation.

Jamie lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Angie. They have one son, Eric, a wonderful daughter in law Amy, and a beautiful 14 year old granddaughter.

Jamie had surgery to remove melanoma from his back in 2012 and was diagnosed with Stage 4B Metastatic Melanoma in 2014. He was accepted to the Stage 2 TIL Trial at Moffitt cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Jamie’s tumors continue to recede and grow smaller and some have completely disappeared with nothing left but scar tissue. He has not had a bad check up since he started the TIL Trial in 2014. Jamie credits TIL, the incredible staff at Moffitt and his wonderful family for saving his life. 

Dr. Allison Betof Warner is Director of the Melanoma Program, Director of Solid Tumor Cellular Therapy, and Mark & Mary Stevens Endowed Scholar in Melanoma at Stanford Cancer Institute. Dr. Betof completed her MD and PhD at Duke University, Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard University) and Medical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Betof’s laboratory focuses on understanding resistance to immune checkpoint blockade and cellular therapies for melanoma and other solid tumors. She is the Principal Investigator of clinical trials exploring novel treatments for immunotherapy-refractory melanoma and is internationally recognized for her expertise in brain/CNS metastasis and the use of novel cellular therapies. Dr. Betof has been a pioneer in the use of commercial tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for the treatment of melanoma and other solid tumors. She has received funding and awards for her clinical and translational investigative work from multiple high-profile organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Melanoma Research Foundation.

Jamie lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife Angie. They have one son, Eric, a wonderful daughter in law Amy, and a beautiful 14 year old granddaughter.

Jamie had surgery to remove melanoma from his back in 2012 and was diagnosed with Stage 4B Metastatic Melanoma in 2014. He was accepted to the Stage 2 TIL Trial at Moffitt cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Jamie’s tumors continue to recede and grow smaller and some have completely disappeared with nothing left but scar tissue. He has not had a bad check up since he started the TIL Trial in 2014. Jamie credits TIL, the incredible staff at Moffitt and his wonderful family for saving his life. 

Justin Markowski is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Yale School of Public Health. His research focuses closely on evaluating and improving the healthcare safety net, oriented toward identifying actionable, responsive policy solutions to the current challenges faced by care delivery organizations and the communities they serve. Most recently, Justin led a study published in the Health Affairs journal that found health professional shortage areas to have no significant impact on mortality or physician density.  

Dr. Robert Brodell is a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, Past-Founding Chair of the Department of Dermatology, and Billy S Guyton, MD Distinguished Professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He spent 27 years in solo private practice in his hometown, Warren, Ohio before moving to Jackson, Mississippi to work with a team of dermatologists to care for patients, read skin pathology cases, and start a residency training program in 2012.  

Dr. Jane Bolin is the associate dean for research at the Texas A&M School of Nursing and a professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. Dr. Bolin is an attorney, and she teaches health law and ethics and human resource management for graduate students. She also serves as deputy director of the Texas A&M Southwest Rural Health Research Center (SRHRC). Dr. Bolin's research focus is diabetes and chronic diseases, cancer prevention and screening, rural health disparities and health law, regulation and ethics. 

Donna is a retired masseuse and former Pilates teacher. Donna is a mother of two grown adult children. She is crazy about the NFL, enjoys playing tennis and watching sports. Donna is a melanoma survivor.

Jim Day is an artist and custom fabricator from Los Angeles. He is well known in his community as the guy who can build anything out of anything, and often helps others build things they could not build themselves. In 2021, Jim discovery he had a brain tumor, and was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic melanoma. After his diagnosis, Jim met with Dr. In whom informed him of his treatment options. Jim knew instantly when he spoke to Dr. In about oncolytic viruses that he wanted to work with him. Two years later Jim has lost an extraordinary amount of cancer, and his side effects are minimal. Jim says that because of Dr. In and the oncolytic virus therapies, he feels alive again. 

Gino K. In is a medical oncologist at the University of Southern California, who specializes in solid tumor and cutaneous oncology. He completed his oncology fellowship at the USC Keck School of Medicine and subsequently joined the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he oversees the multidisciplinary melanoma and skin cancer program, and leads clinical trials for melanoma, and other skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.