Ask the Expert: Acral Melanoma: Insights from Research and Real Life

Join us for an Ask the Expert session focused on acral melanoma. This virtual program will feature insights from leading researcher Vito W. Rebecca, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, whose work focuses on therapy resistance and metastasis in melanoma, with particular attention to rare subtypes such as acral melanoma.

We will also hear from the patient perspective through the experience of Robert (Rob) Ainslie, a recently retired international public health professional who is living with acral melanoma. Together, the discussion will explore current updates in acral melanoma research and the realities of living with the disease, followed by time for live questions and conversation.

Speakers:

Vito W. Rebecca, PhD

Vito W. Rebecca, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He earned his PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of South Florida and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a Staff Scientist appointment at The Wistar Institute.

Dr. Rebecca leads a research program focused on understanding and overcoming therapy resistance and metastasis in melanoma, with particular emphasis on rare subtypes such as acral melanoma. His laboratory integrates patient-derived models, orthotopic mouse systems, and multi-omic approaches to identify actionable vulnerabilities in intrinsically resistant tumor cell populations. His work has been supported by the NIH, Department of Defense, Melanoma Research Alliance, Melanoma Research Foundation, and institutional awards. 

Robert Ainslie 

Robert Ainslie recently retired from 30+ years working in international public health for Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs. Throughout his career his focus has been working on a number of health issues including family planning/reproductive health, malaria prevention, water and sanitation/hygiene improvement, maternal child health and nutrition. 

He has worked in Indonesia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Haiti, Nicaragua, Brazil, Guatemala, Ghana and Cambodia. 

He has been married to Emily for 29 years and they have two children. He and his family lived overseas for 17 years in Indonesia and Tanzania.