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PHILADELPHIA - Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), along with the American Association for Cancer Research, call upon the cancer research community to submit Letters of Intent for a new Dream Team dedicated to melanoma research.

The SU2C-MRA Melanoma Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will provide funding of a minimum of $6 million over a three-year period for a cancer research project that will accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic agents to the clinic. Proposals for Melanoma Dream Team projects must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic.

To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and young investigators and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past, as well as patient advocates. This Dream Team will span multiple disciplines and utilize the new tools of modern biology to attack research questions in a coordinated way. Mechanisms to foster collaboration within and among the Dream Teams should be employed - an approach that promotes the sharing of information and a goal-oriented focus on measurable milestones of progress.

SU2C and MRA believe that this unique Dream Team model will advance scientific research in the interests of both todays cancer patients and those who may develop cancer in the future.

A SU2C-MRA Joint Scientific Advisory Committee (JSAC) will conduct a unique, interactive, rapid and rigorous evaluation of the applications via a multi-step scientific review process. The committee is chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is comprised of highly accomplished senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists, as well as advocates.

Since the launch of Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2Cs scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. The AACR is responsible for administering these grants and provides ongoing scientific oversight to ensure that progress is being made. AACR will work closely with MRA, the largest private funder of melanoma research.

For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about this Dream Team grant, please visit: www.aacr.org/SU2CMRA. Inquiries may be directed to the SU2C Grants Office at: (267) 765-1049 or su2c@aacr.org. Those interested should submit Letters of Intent detailing their best ideas for cutting-edge melanoma research projects to su2c@aacr.org by 12:00 p.m. (noon) ET on June 20, 2011.

The SU2C-MRA Melanoma Translational Dream Team will be announced in November 2011.

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About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) - a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization - raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this effort.

To view the recently televised Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, please visit: www.su2c.org/2010show. For general information, please visit www.su2c.org.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that serves as the collective philanthropy for the television and film businesses. EIF has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

About the Melanoma Research Alliance

The Melanoma Research Alliance is a public charity formed under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the generous founding support of Debra and Leon Black. It supports an international, cross-disciplinary group of biomedical researchers possessing clinical and scientific expertise to explore, identify and pursue innovative solutions to critical research questions, leading to better treatments and a cure for melanoma patients. Since its founding in 2007, MRA has become the largest private funder of melanoma research. For more information about MRAs research programs, visit www.melanomaresearchalliance.org

About the American Association for Cancer Research

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, the AACR is the worlds oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes 33,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and more than 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants, research fellowships and career development awards. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 18,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. Including Cancer Discovery, the AACR publishes seven major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. AACR journals represented 20 percent of the market share of total citations in 2009. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists.

Media Contact:

Michele Sharp 

(267) 646-0622

Michele.Sharp@aacr.org

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