Posted to MediaSyndicate.com (Aug 26, 2008 - 10:11 AM) : WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 25, 2008) – Alison Martin, M.D., one of oncology’s respected research leaders, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), a new organization created to stimulate research that will lead to new preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic options for melanoma.



The MRA is a public charity formed in November 2007 under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the initial generous support of Debra and Leon Black. Results of the first competitive grant cycle will be announced shortly.

Dr. Martin, a medical oncologist with over 20 years experience in clinical research, joins the MRA from the National Cancer Institute where she was most recently Head of Genitourinary Cancers and Melanoma Therapeutics in the Clinical Investigations Branch of the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). She was scientific co-chair along with Dr. Meenhard Herlyn of the 2007 NCI-Community-Oriented Strategic Action Plan for Melanoma Research. She has served as liaison to three of NCI’s cooperative groups and been a senior investigator in the Investigational Drug Branch of CTEP.

In addition to experience at NCI, Dr. Martin was a team leader in the Office of Oncology Drug Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has experience working with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Dr. Martin is known for innovative efforts, such as enabling the launch of E2805, an ongoing trial of adjuvant therapy for renal cancer that uses a single trial to provide a control arm and data for registration of products from two separate companies; working to develop the definition of noninferiority for oncology trials used at the FDA which supported approval of capecitabine in colorectal cancer; and, most recently, ushering in the GU Steering Committee, the new strategic NCI trans-program body incorporating funded investigators, that will set the clinical research agendas for NCI in prostate, renal and bladder cancers.

“Dr. Martin’s broad background in drug development, strategic planning, cross-sector collaboration and leadership, as well as her understanding of the melanoma community uniquely positions her to lead our efforts at the Melanoma Research Alliance,” said Debra Black, co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors.

“It is a pleasure to join the team that has, in less than a year, convened a conference of international experts, written a scientific agenda and funded eight million dollars in peer-reviewed grants,” said Dr. Martin. “Our operating principles are to continue to support innovative, high risk research; create a stable financial environment to draw the best minds into the field and to allow existing highly motivated investigators to conduct their research; find opportunities to synergize with other funders to avoid duplication and maximize impact; and foster a collaborative, multidisciplinary process with early sharing of results that will allow identification of new opportunities. With research funding from the government decreasing, we must all work together to create the engine that will move us toward eliminating suffering and death due to melanoma.”

Dr. Martin was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Southwest Oncology Group; Biomarker Consortium of the Interagency Oncology Task Force; as well as the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Scientific Program, Nominating and Cancer Communication Committees.

Dr. Martin received her bachelor’s degree from New York University and a medical degree from the George Washington University Medical School. She completed residency and chief residency at the University Health Center Hospitals of Pittsburgh and fellowship training at the Clinical Oncology Program of the National Cancer Institute.


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About the Melanoma Research Alliance: The Melanoma Research Alliance is an international, cross-disciplinary group of biomedical researchers possessing clinical and scientific expertise to explore, identify, and pursue innovative solutions to critical research issues leading to better treatments and a cure for melanoma. MRA is a public charity formed under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the initial generous founding support of Debra and Leon Black. For more information, please visit: www.melanomaresearchalliance.org.