Brief history of the Society for Melanoma Research: A community of clinicians,researchers, and friends

To commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Society of Melanoma Research and the first International Melanoma Research Congress held in June of 2003, we have described in brief, how the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) began, the purpose, goals, and governance of the SMR, and how the society has evolved to support new melanoma researchers. In celebration of the immense progress in treating melanoma patients over the last 20 years and the impact of the SMR on these advances, we have highlighted memories and insight from early SMR members and founders.     

Next-generation of melanoma researchers: Trainee perspectives from around the world

The Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) was created 20 years ago and has unequivocally contributed to the vast progress of the field, particularly for the treatment of melanoma patients with metastatic disease by facilitating synergistic collaborations between clinicians, researchers at the bench, and industry. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the first SMR International Congress (held in 2003 in Philadelphia), we look to the future by highlighting the perspectives of the next generation of rising stars, medical, and graduate students across six continents.     

Meeting report from the 7th International Melanoma Congress, Sydney, November, 2010

The 2010 7th International Melanoma Congress sponsored by the Society for Melanoma Research and held in Sydney, Australia, was held together with the International Melanoma and Skin Cancer Centers group and the International Melanoma Pathology Study Group. As a consequence, there were over 900 registrants that included a wide range of clinicians (surgeons, medical oncologists, dermatologists) specialising in the management of melanoma as well as scientists and students carrying out laboratory-based research in melanoma. There was a general consensus that this grouping of clinicians, pathologists and scientists was mutually advantageous and plans are afoot to continue this grouping in future meetings. The meeting was dominated by the advances being made in treatment of melanoma with selective BRAF inhibitors but interest in epithelial mesenchymal transition and phenotypic changes in melanoma was apparent in many of the talks. The authors have attempted to capture many of the new developments in melanoma research but apologize to those speakers and poster presenters who had equally important findings not captured in these summaries.     

Incorporating equity,diversity, and inclusiveness into the Hong Kong Principles

In this response to Labib and Evans, authors of the Hong Kong Principles look forward to collaborating with those from the broad research integrity community to ensure that issues of equity, diversity and inclusion will become part of the ecosystem of research integrity.

We thank Ms. Labib and Dr. Evans for their work on the Hong Kong Principles (HKPs) [1]. Your letter raises important points and gives us an opportunity to respond and clarify our perspective. As you indicate in your letter, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are important topics that require attention in the assessment of researchers. We did not address them specifically in the HKPs because our main focus was on rewarding responsible research practices that improve the transparency and validity of research. As a clarification (and not to be interpreted as defensive on our part), EDI also wasn’t mentioned prominently in our breakout discussions with more than 100 participants of the 6th World Conference on Research Integrity, where the draft HKPs were discussed and finalized.In our paper [2], Principle 5 (recognize essential other tasks like peer review and mentoring) provides a useful example that illustrates that the essence of the Labib and Evans comments about EDI are in alignment with our views—“Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, has some exciting initiatives in their new academic promotion policy, which includes five pillars, one of which is in leadership and citizenship. Here, researchers can show their alignment with the university’s values and broader contribution to the university and its community [87]. Since this policy was introduced, it has been reported that the number of promotion applications increased by 50%, and the number of women promoted has also increased [88]”.We think there will be an opportunity to more forcefully address EDI in the envisioned Cape Town Statement on Fostering Research Integrity through equity, fairness, and diversity (programmed as a focus track on the 7th World Conference on Research Integrity, Cape Town, South Africa, 2022). We can imagine that the Cape Town Statement will demand fostering EDI in research, including in the assessment of researchers for hiring, promotion, or tenure. We would see this as an update of the HKPs.We are pleased that the HKPs has initiated discussion on EDI as part of the process of assessing researchers for hiring, promotion, and tenure. We look forward to collaborating with Labib and Evans and many others from the broad research integrity community to ensure that EDI will become part of the ecosystem of research integrity.     

Meeting report: fourth international congress of the Society for Melanoma Research

The 4th international melanoma congress of the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR), organized by Marianne Berwick (University of New Mexico), Paul Chapman (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), Rene Gonzalez (University of Colorado) and Ze'ev Ronai (Burnham Institute), was held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown New York on November 2007. The congress was attended by a record high number of attendees (over 500 delegates) who joined to discuss recent advances in melanoma biology and therapy. About 40% of the participants arrived from 39 countries, a testament to the high impact of this annual gathering on the international melanoma community. Over 120 of the participants were students or postdoctoral fellows, representing a most impressive fraction of young scientists engaged in melanoma research. The meeting consisted of more than 50 plenary and minisymposia presentations, stimulating the exchange of unpublished data and novel ideas, and helping to forge new collaborations that are anticipated to facilitate significant advances in basic, translational and clinical melanoma research. Another major focus of this meeting was over 160 posters, which were heavily attended and provided an effective forum for extensive informal discussions. This report will highlight the major scientific themes and advances of this most successful meeting, and provide a useful perspective on the current state of melanoma research, as well as where the field should be heading.     

Melanoma central nervous system metastases: current approaches,challenges, and opportunities

Melanoma central nervous system metastases are increasing, and the challenges presented by this patient population remain complex. In December 2015, the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Wistar Institute hosted the First Summit on Melanoma Central Nervous System (CNS) Metastases in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here, we provide a review of the current status of the field of melanoma brain metastasis research; identify key challenges and opportunities for improving the outcomes in patients with melanoma brain metastases; and set a framework to optimize future research in this critical area.     

Leptomeningeal disease in melanoma patients: An update to treatment,challenges, and future directions

In February 2018, the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Moffitt Cancer Center hosted the Second Summit on Melanoma Central Nervous System Metastases in Tampa, Florida. The meeting included investigators from multiple academic centers and disciplines. A consensus summary of the progress and challenges in melanoma parenchymal brain metastases was published (Eroglu et al., Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, 2019, 32, 458). Here, we will describe the current state of basic, translational, clinical research, and therapeutic management, for melanoma patients with leptomeningeal disease. We also outline key challenges and barriers to be overcome to make progress in this deadly disease.     

Proceedings from the Melanoma Research Foundation Mucosal Melanoma Meeting (December 16, 2022, New York,USA)

Mucosal melanoma remains a rare cancer with high mortality and a paucity of therapeutic options. This is due in significant part to its low incidence leading to limited patient access to expert care and downstream clinical/basic science data for research interrogation. Clinical challenges such as delayed and at times inaccurate diagnoses, and lack of consensus tumor staging have added to the suboptimal outcomes for these patients. Clinical trials, while promising, have been difficult to activate and accrue. While individual institutions and investigators have attempted to seek solutions to such problems, international, national, and local partnership may provide the keys to more efficient and innovative paths forward. Furthermore, a mucosal melanoma coalition would provide a potential network for patients and caregivers to seek expert opinion and advice. The Melanoma Research Foundation Mucosal Melanoma Meeting (December 16, 2022, New York, USA) highlighted the current clinical challenges faced by patients, providers, and scientists, identified current and future clinical trial investigations in this rare disease space, and aimed to increase national and international collaboration among the mucosal melanoma community in an effort to improve patient outcomes. The included proceedings highlight the clinical challenges of mucosal melanoma, global clinical trial experience, basic science advances in mucosal melanoma, and future directions, including the creation of shared rare tumor registries and enhanced collaborations.     

Fostering equity,diversity, and inclusion in large,first‐year classes: Using reflective practice questions to promote universal design for learning in ecology and evolution lessons

Instructors can deliberately design for equity, diversity, and inclusion, including for large first‐year classes, and now instructors have added challenges given COVID‐19. Our paper explores the question: How do we integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion and universal design for learning (UDL) into first‐year, undergraduate ecology and evolution introductory lessons given the COVID‐19 pandemic? Given the large field exploring equity, diversity, and inclusion, we chose to focus on developing reflective practice question rubrics for before, during, and after lessons to encourage UDL for instructors, teaching assistants, and learners. We conducted a focus group within our team and discussed ideas related to online learning, including related pitfalls and solutions. Lastly, we created a figure to illustrate ideas and end with a general discussion. Our reflective practice questions for UDL rubrics, figure, focus group, and discussion aim to increase positive action for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom and beyond.     

Melanoma central nervous system metastases: An update to approaches,challenges, and opportunities

In February 2018, the Melanoma Research Foundation and the Moffitt Cancer Center hosted the Second Summit on Melanoma Central Nervous System (CNS) Metastases in Tampa, Florida. In this white paper, we outline the current status of basic science, translational, and clinical research into melanoma brain metastasis development and therapeutic management. We further outline the important challenges that remain for the field and the critical barriers that need to be overcome for continued progress to be made in this clinically difficult area.     

沉水植物恢复对湖泊沉积物产甲烷菌的影响研究

为探明沉水植物恢复对湖泊沉积物中产甲烷菌的影响,本文选用杭州西湖沉水植物恢复区域进行研究,同时对比分析未进行沉水植物恢复区域。产甲烷菌多样性和群落结构分析采用限制性片段长度多态性分析(PCR-RFLP)及分子克隆等技术。研究结果表明,沉水植物恢复区产甲烷菌OTU类型均数为13种,高于沉水植物匮乏区域的9种;并且沉水植物恢复区的Shannon指数、Simpson多样性指数较对照区分别高21.7%和9.5%,表明沉水植物的恢复有利于提高沉积物中产甲烷菌群落结构多样性。就产甲烷菌种类而言,沉水植物的恢复对甲烷微菌纲Methanomicrobia等影响不显著,恢复区和匮乏区分别占43.6%-67.4%、41.5%-58.1%。甲烷球菌纲Methanococci在沉水植物恢复区和匮乏区的存在量较少,分别占1.7%和4.1%。而沉水植物的恢复一定程度上提高甲烷杆菌纲Methanobacteria的比例,较匮乏区高14.6%,且仅在恢复区检测到甲烷杆状热菌科Methanothermaceae和甲烷八叠球菌科Methanosarcinaceae。       

You are welcome here: A practical guide to diversity,equity, and inclusion for undergraduates embarking on an ecological research experience

As we build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture in the ecological research community, we must work to support new ecologists by empowering them with the knowledge, tools, validation, and sense of belonging in ecology to succeed. Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are critical for a student''s professional and interpersonal skill development and key for recruiting and retaining students from diverse groups to ecology. However, few resources exist that speak directly to an undergraduate researcher on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) dimensions of embarking on a first research experience. Here, we write primarily for undergraduate readers, though a broader audience of readers, especially URE mentors, will also find this useful. We explain many of the ways a URE benefits undergraduate researchers and describe how URE students from different positionalities can contribute to an inclusive research culture. We address three common sources of anxiety for URE students through a DEI lens: imposter syndrome, communicating with mentors, and safety in fieldwork. We discuss the benefits as well as the unique vulnerabilities and risks associated with fieldwork, including the potential for harassment and assault. Imposter syndrome and toxic field experiences are known to drive students, including students from underrepresented minority groups, out of STEM. Our goal is to encourage all students, including those from underrepresented groups, to apply for UREs, build awareness of their contributions to inclusion in ecology research, and provide strategies for overcoming known barriers.     

The state of melanoma: challenges and opportunities

The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) has charted a comprehensive assessment of the current state of melanoma research and care. Intensive discussions among members of the MRF Scientific Advisory Council and Breakthrough Consortium, a group that included clinicians and scientists, focused on four thematic areas – diagnosis/early detection, prevention, tumor cell dormancy (including metastasis), and therapy (response and resistance). These discussions extended over the course of 2015 and culminated at the Society of Melanoma Research 2015 International Congress in November. Each of the four groups has outlined their thoughts as per the current status, challenges, and opportunities in the four respective areas. The current state and immediate and long‐term needs of the melanoma field, from basic research to clinical management, are presented in the following report.     

Progress in melanoma treatment: Patient's perspectives

Upon the 20th Anniversary of the Society for Melanoma Research, we highlight the perspectives of patients aiming to help improve future experiences, outcomes, and their quality of life over the next 20 years. Five melanoma patients generously shared their inspiring and enlightening stories of diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. Many patients had excellent medical teams that synergistically worked together to provide an accurate diagnosis, effective treatment options, and supportive care. However, it is clear that health inequities persist in communities where people of color are predominant, affecting early detection, patient experience, and outcomes. These stories shed light on the unique challenges faced by patients and how the lack of melanoma awareness and adequate resources, especially in communities of color or low socioeconomic status, can contribute to disparate outcomes in melanoma care. We expect that these stories will raise awareness about the progress in melanoma treatment but also the existent disparities in melanoma diagnosis and treatment and the importance of early detection and prevention.     

Eye development at the Houston "Fly Meeting"

The 47th Annual Drosophila Research Conference or "Fly Meeting" took place at Houston, Texas, USA from March 29th- April 2nd, 2006, under the aegis of the Genetics Society of America. The Fly Meeting provides an excellent opportunity for fly researchers to present their work and to get a snapshot of recent developments and upcoming trends in their research field. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster is a very versatile model to study growth, patterning, neural development, evolution, systemetics and various other facets of biomedical science. The topics presented in the meeting covered a very broad spectrum of fly research. In this commentary, I have focused mainly on the presentations related to two fields: 1) research in various fields that use the Drosophila eye as a model system, and 2) the community resources available to all fly researchers.     

Calling for institutional reform by compensating early career researchers for diversity labor

Although institutions and funding organizations in the USA are implementing measures to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), people with marginalized identities disproportionately drive those efforts without reward and recognition in their careers; thus, they are minority taxed. While minority tax reform is essential at all levels, this article focuses on compensation for early career researchers (ECRs) at the graduate and postdoctoral levels.     

The 19th Ion Channel Meeting,September 2008, France

The annual meeting of the French Ion Channels Society, held on the Mediterranean coast of France, is aimed at gathering the international scientific community working on various aspects of ion channels. In this report of the 19th edition of the meeting, held in September 2008, we summarize selected symposia on aspects of the ion channel field from fundamental to clinical research. The meeting is an opportunity for leading investigators as well as young researchers to present and discuss their recent advances and future challenges in the ion channel field.     

环境正义视角下公园绿地空间配置公平性评价——以南京市主城区为例

公园绿地在促进城市居民公共健康、实现城市可持续发展方面具有广泛效益,其空间配置的公平性对维护环境正义具有重要意义。然而,当前公园绿地空间配置公平性的研究仍侧重其数量的地域均等,对其质量、可达性空间配置的公平性关注不足。本研究基于环境正义视角,以南京市主城区为例,从公园可达性、公园面积、公园质量3个特征(共6个参数),综合运用互联网地图服务可达性分析、主客观综合质量评价、空间自相关及非参数检验等多种分析方法,分析了公园绿地空间配置的公平性格局。结果表明:研究区公园绿地的空间分布格局呈现明显的核心-边缘特征,在可达性、面积、质量3个特征上均存在一定程度的不公平性,呈现出较为显著的环境不正义格局;3个特征6个参数空间配置的不公平性存在显著差异,可达性得分值、可达的公园面积的不公平性最突出,到达公园绿地的最小时间、到达最近公园的质量的差异次之,到达高质量公园的数量与最小时间差异较小;高收入居住社区能够访问的公园的可达性得分值、总面积、公园质量平均值分别是低收入社区的3.7、2.7和1.6倍,表明收入高的居住社区享有更好可达性、更大面积、更高质量的公园绿地。其中,中等收入社区享有绿地优势最突出,大多数低收入居住社区尚难以在步行30 min内到达高质量公园。研究结果可为城市公园绿地的优化配置与合理规划提供决策依据与规划参考。     

Symposium Report: International Symposium on Ciliate Biology,India Habitat Centre,New Delhi,India, 04–06 April 2018

Ciliated protists have attracted wide interest among researchers from the Indian subcontinent in the last few years. An International Symposium on Ciliate Biology (ISCB) 2018 was held on 04–06 April 2018 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India. The symposium represented a synergy with International Research Coordination Network for Biodiversity of Ciliates (IRCN‐BC), an affiliate society of International Society of Protistologists (ISOP). The symposium provided a platform for Indian and International delegates to exchange knowledge, present their latest research findings, and establish collaborations as well as creating a networking opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students. Nine foreign delegates from 5 countries and 300 Indian delegates actively participated in the event which included 22 oral and 57 poster presentations.     

An Assessment of Diversity,Inclusion, and Health Equity Training in Endocrinology Fellowship Programs in the United States

ContextThe Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has instituted common program requirements related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) for postgraduate trainees in the United States; however, the extent to which DEI training is being incorporated across endocrinology fellowship programs is unknown.ObjectivesTo describe the sociodemographic representation and DEI training experiences within endocrinology fellowship programs.Design, setting, and participantsNational cross-sectional survey study of fellows and fellowship program leaders in the United States whose fellowships were members of the Association of Program Directors in Endocrinology and Metabolism.Main outcome measures(1) Demographics of fellows and program leaders and (2) programs’ experience, confidence, and interest in formal DEI training.ResultsA total of 108 and 106 fellow and faculty responded to the survey, respectively. The majority of fellows and faculty are female. Less than 3% of fellows and 3.7% of faculty identify as Black. More than 90% of fellows/faculty are heterosexual and no respondents identified as transgender/nonbinary; however, 5% and 2% of all respondents preferred not to disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity, respectively. While 85% of faculty received institutional diversity and inclusion training, 67.6% of fellows did. Fellows are more likely to have received training in health equity than program leaders. Both fellows and program leaders express a high interest in health equity curriculum.ConclusionsWithin the diversity of endocrinology training programs, Black physicians are underrepresented in medicine, which persists in endocrinology fellowships. Fellowship programs express enthusiasm for national diversity and health equity curricula, with the majority of programs reporting institutional DEI training.