Melanoma research gets a financial boost

The Woiner Foundation of Pittsburgh recently donated $50,000 to the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s Melanoma and Skin Cancer Treatment Program, directed by John Kirkwood to support his internationally acclaimed melanoma research.

Under Kirkwood’s direction, more than 20 faculty researchers are leading multiple local, national and international studies that are advancing new therapies for the treatment of melanoma, a cancer that kills more than 10,000 people in the United States each year.

Kirkwood leads a number of highly promising clinical trials with cancer vaccines to spur the body’s own immune system into recognizing and destroying melanoma.