The mystery of increasing melanoma prevalence: What is the cellular basis? Event as iCalendar

Liggins Institute academic seminar presented by Professor Bruce Baguley, Co-Director, Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre

All University staff and students are welcome
Refreshments will be served

Malignant melanoma is distinguished from other types of cancer not only because of its relatively high incidence in New Zealand but also for the relentless worldwide increase in its incidence over the last 80 years. This dramatic increase is not occurring in other cancer types and we still do not understand its basis. In many ways the increase in melanoma incidence parallels that of obesity and diabetes; is there any mechanistic basis behind this relationship and is it a public health issue? Do we really know what differences there are between melanoma cells and the melanocytes from which they are derived? What have we learnt from genetic and cellular analysis of our extensive collection of more than 100 melanoma lines, which we have developed from patients’ tumours? Prof. Baguley will discuss all these questions in this lecture.

Biosketch
Prof. Baguley was born in Hamilton and graduated at the University of Auckland. Since 1968 he has been involved in both teaching and research at the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, University of Auckland, where his main interests have been the biology of cancer growth and the development of new anticancer drugs. He has supervised more than 50 graduate students and published more than 400 scientific papers. He has been the recipient of many honours and awards to acknowledge his significant contribution to our nation and the university including Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1991, t Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2002, Sir Peter Gluckman Medal in 2006, New Zealanders of the Year in 2006, and Sir Charles Hercus Medal in 2006. He became a University of Auckland Distinguished Professor in 2011. He has been closely involved with a team that has brought many new anticancer drugs to clinical trial, and over the last 20 years he has had a particular interest culturing surgical samples of metastatic malignant melanoma.