Merkel Cell Carcinoma Collaborative

• Integrity – We are deliberate, accurate, and transparent. We do our homework and choose our problems carefully. We balance evidence-driven research with compassion. We never take for granted the precious gifts from patients (data, specimens, and funds) that make our progress possible.
• Education – We use the appropriate language for each audience to ensure understanding for everyone. We empower the world with information, so MCC patients have the best care options and live longer. We break down barriers (cost, lack of information, location) so patients have access to the best MCC resources. We train healthcare providers and scientists to be compassionate, ethical, and knowledgeable.
• Collaboration – We collaborate because it is the most effective way to help our patients and advance the field. We believe team-based patient care is essential. We are approachable, curious, and available. We eagerly assist teams around the world and share data to accelerate progress.
• Transformative – We believe in thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. We are tenacious and driven to push the field forward. We believe that what we do will make a difference for patients.
• Patient focused – We make decisions based on what is right for the patient. An MCC patient represents a community of people–we care for all of them. We treat patients like they are members of our own family. The challenges that patients experience guide our priorities.

We propose to create the Merkel Cell Carcinoma Collaborative (MC3) at the UW to improve the lives of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) through excellent translational research. Our vision is to augment our Seattle MCC hub with its already recognized excellence in patient care and research. We will continue to set standards for research impact and improvement in clinical care. Our goal is to improve MCC patient outcomes with a focus on translational immunobiology to harness anti-cancer immune responses and leverage them for treatment of this cancer. We aim to provide structure for the 100+ MCC collaborators in Seattle and around the world. MC3 will manage and support scientific research projects, support training of junior scientists and clinicians, advocate for patient needs, and provide the best MCC clinical care in the world.

We have demonstrated robust productivity (5 changes to clinical management and over 77 publications in the last 5 years) with many of our UW and Fred Hutch collaborators on a large Merkel cell carcinoma Program Project NIH grant (P01CA225517). Given the momentum that this grant generated, we anticipate continued productivity from this research group. The formation of an institute would create a shared identity, core values, and mission to work together to improve the lives of MCC patients. To this end, we envision expanding research, clinical and educational activities in the following realms:

• Paul Nghiem, Director and Faculty Lead
• Candice Church, Director of Scientific Research
• Rima Kulikauskas, Director of Specimen Repository
• Krista Lachance, Director of People and Programs