Ask the Expert: Treatment of Immunotherapy Resistant Melanoma 

Join melanoma expert Yana Najjar, MD for an informative and interactive Ask the Expert webinar on navigating treatment decisions after immunotherapy. Through both clinical expertise and lived experience, this session will explore the melanoma journey from diagnosis through surgery and treatment, helping patients understand when to begin planning for future treatment options. 

You will learn about the clinical data behind TUDRIQEV, who may be an appropriate candidate for this therapy and what to expect during treatment, including administration, potential side effects and practical strategies for managing them.  

The webinar will also feature melanoma thriver and patient advocate, Erin Pazour, who will share her personal experience with the melanoma treatment. 

Patients and caregivers will leave with practical insights, expert guidance and a deeper understanding of treatment options to help make more informed decisions about their melanoma care. 

Speakers:

Dr. Yana G. Najjar is a translational investigator and cutaneous oncologist at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, where she is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Center. She is a member of the Melanoma Committee of ECOG and serves as Chair of Immunotherapeutics/CIMAC subcommittee of ECOG. Dr. Najjar specializes in the treatment of advanced melanoma, focusing on anti-PD1 resistant melanoma and rare melanoma subtypes.

Using a bench-to-bedside approach, she has developed multiple investigator-initiated trials that aim to remodel melanoma tumor cell metabolism and hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment to overcome mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy. Her lab is focused on various correlative analyses from investigator-initiated trials. Dr. Najjar’s research is funded by the NIH, the Department of Defense and the Melanoma Research Alliance.

Erin Pazour is a Physical Therapist and community volunteer from Iowa.  She is married with 3 grown children.  She was diagnosed with advanced Melanoma in 2021.