Dr. Rajan Kulkarni, a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and a clinical instructor in the division of dermatology in the David Geffen School of Medicine, has been granted a Young Investigator Award of $75,000 on behalf of the Melanoma Research Alliance. The award will support his research on melanoma, a form of skin cancer, for the next three years.
The research alliance recruits and supports the next generation of melanoma researchers by funding the most innovative ideas of academic leaders. Kulkarni was among 42 scientists selected for the award from 25 academic institutions in four countries.
Kulkarni’s research has analyzed melanoma tumor variability and developed ways to predict responses to new therapies. In advanced melanoma, circulating tumor cells (CTCs) – cells that break off from the tumor and travel through the blood — are thought to contribute to the progression and possibly be the source of cells that cause the spread of cancer. Kulkarni has helped to develop the Vortex Chip, a device used for isolating melanoma CTCs from blood. This new technology is beneficial because it analyzes the CTCs found in blood samples, as opposed to having to perform invasive biopsies on patients every few weeks.
For more information, visit the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center website.
