August 2022 Eyes on a Cure Patient Symposium - Clinical Research Part 2

Dr. Anne is a professor of Radiation Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, and Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. She practices at Jefferson Heatlh Center City Campus, where she specializes in treatment of gastrointestinal, skin, gynecologic, and breast cancers. She feels privileged to work with such an exemplary ocular melanoma team. 

Dr. Adamo received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology with Honors from Williams College, Williamstown, MA in 2001. He spent a year conducting molecular biology research studying bacterial pathogenesis in Cystic Fibrosis at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He earned his medical degree from State University of New York – Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, NY in 2006, where he graduated cum laude and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Adamo completed two years of a General Surgery Residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. He then completed the Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Enhanced Clinical Training (DIRECT) Pathway at Jefferson in 2012. Dr. Adamo was extremely fortunate to be trained by Interventional Radiologists Drs. Carin Gonsalves and David Eschelman, leaders in the field of liver directed therapies for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.  

Dr. Adamo is a Diplomate of the American Board of Radiology and holds a primary certificate in Interventional and Diagnostic Radiology. He was an Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA from 2012-2014 before returning to Thomas Jefferson University in 2014. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and serves as an Interventional Radiologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He also now serves as Program Director for the Vascular and Interventional Radiology Fellowship and Interventional Radiology Residencies at Jefferson since 2017.  

Dr. Adamo is privileged to work as part of the world class multidisciplinary melanoma team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. His clinical focus is interventional oncology. He is co-investigator of several clinical trials and is an expert in image-guided biopsies for early diagnosis as well as percutaneous ablative treatments and liver directed arterial therapies. It is his distinct honor to constantly strive to improve the treatments and outcomes for patients and their families. Along with his colleagues, Dr. Adamo was awarded the MRF CURE OM Vision of Hope Award in 2019 by the Melanoma Research Foundation. 

Dr. Carin Gonsalves is a Professor of Radiology and Co-Director of the Division of Interventional Radiology at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Over the course of her 23-year career, she has received several awards and honors including the Judy Dubbs Memorial Research Award, the A. Edward O’Hara MD Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education, the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Clinician, the Faculty Team Achievement Award for Collaborative Work as a Member of the Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Team, Certificate of Merit and the CureOM Hope Award from the Melanoma Research Foundation, Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctor in Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Castle Connolly Philadelphia Top Doctor in Vascular and Interventional Radiology and Castle Connolly Exceptional Women in Medicine.  She has also been the principal and co-investigator for several NIH-funded clinical trials and has received research awards from the Radiologic Society of North America, American Roentgen Ray Society and the Society of Interventional Radiology.  In 2011, she was elected a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology for her outstanding credentials, achievements and contributions to the field of interventional radiology.  

Dr. Marlana Orloff is an assistant professor of medicine and medical oncologist at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital – Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Her clinical and research focus is on primary and advanced melanomas. Her main interest is in rare melanomas including uveal , conjunctival, and mucosal melanoma. Her research is centered on investigating the epidemiology of uveal melanoma and discovery of novel therapies for primary and advanced uveal, conjunctival, mucosal and cutaneous melanoma. She works very closely with the team at Wills Eye Hospital to manage hundreds of patients with primary and metastatic ocular melanoma. She is a member of a multidisciplinary team of medical oncologists, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologist and numerous other essential personnel that treats patients with metastatic uveal melanoma from all over the country. She is principal and co-investigator on a number of clinical trials enrolling patients with primary and advanced melanomas of all types. Her current research is funded by Melanoma Research Alliance, industry support, and the generous philanthropic support of patients and their families.

Dr. Rino Seedor is an assistant professor of medical oncology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital - Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her medical school and residency training at Jefferson and was briefly at Fox Chase Cancer Center before returning to Jefferson last July. Her clinical and research focus is on prevention and treatment of melanoma, both cutaneous and uveal. She is the principal investigator and co-investigator of several therapeutic clinical trials in uveal melanoma including the phase II study investigating an FAK inhibitor with a dual RAF/MEK inhibitor in metastatic uveal melanoma. Along with medical oncologists Dr. Takami Sato and Dr. Marlana Orloff, a dedicated team of interventional radiologists, and numerous other essential personnel, Dr. Seedor and the team at Jefferson treats metastatic uveal melanoma patients from all over the country with liver-directed procedures and systemic therapy

Dr. Aplin's research lab elucidates mechanisms underlying the malignant properties of genetic subsets of melanoma. They combine bio-informatic, molecular cell biology, in vivo model and patient sample-based approaches. Their research follows three themes. They study the molecular and signaling aberrations within melanoma subsets and identify determinants of response and mechanisms of resistance to BRAF, MEK and CDK4/6 inhibitors. To facilitate these efforts, they have developed novel models to quantitatively measure signaling pathways in melanomas in vivo. Second, they are analyzing mechanisms to alter the tumor immune microenvironment with an emphasis of inflammatory forms of cell death. Third, they have established multiple multi-institutional teams to studying the dormancy, epigenetic and drug resistant features of ocular/uveal melanoma.

He currently serves at both an institutional and national level. At Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Aplin serves as Deputy Director for Scientific Strategy in the NCI-designated, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Nationally, he is a regular member for the NIH/NCI Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 1 (MCT1) study section, the American Cancer Society Council for Extramural Grants and the Melanoma Research Alliance grant review council. He also serves on the Scientific Advisory Council for the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Steering Committee for the Society for Melanoma Research. He is a former Associate Editor of Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research (2013-2017) and currently serves on the editorial board of Cancer Research and Molecular Cancer Research.

Dr. Sara Selig is the Co-Founder and Director of the MRF’s CURE OM initiative. Sara initially became involved with the OM community when her husband, Gregg, was diagnosed with the disease in 2006, at the age of 34, when Sara was a fourth year medical student. At the time of Gregg’s diagnosis, Gregg and Sara became fierce advocates for Gregg’s care and the entire OM community as well. Sara continues to be a passionate advocate for the ocular melanoma field—working to accelerate research, promote collaboration, and support patients and caregivers through her leadership of the CURE OM initiative. She is currently Associate Physician in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.