Our Current Board

Krista M. Rubin, RN, MS, FNP-BC

Krista Rubin, Chair of the Melanoma Nursing Initiative (MNI), is a nurse practitioner in the Center for Melanoma at Massachusetts General Hospital. For the past 20 years she has focused almost exclusively on melanoma, from prevention to management of metastatic disease. In her clinical practice, Ms Rubin has provided care to patients receiving immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and various investigational agents. Ms Rubin has served as a sub-investigator for more than 100 clinical research protocols, including many of the pivotal trials led to the FDA approval of such agents as interleukin-2, interferon alfa-2b, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, trametinib, dabrafenib, and vemurafenib. She continues to work with these agents in her current clinical setting. She is considered an expert in the areas of melanoma education and prevention, cancer immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and symptom management.

Ms Rubin has authored or co-authored numerous articles in peer reviewed journals on various topics related to melanoma. She has consulted, served on numerous planning committees, and continues to be a sought-after speaker at local, regional, national, and international conferences. She sits on the Medical Advisory Board for IMPACT Melanoma (formerly Melanoma Foundation of New England) and the Melanoma Research Foundation’s Pediatric Melanoma Committee. She served for a decade on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Melanoma Prevention Foundation. She is the Nurse Liaison to the Melanoma Committee for the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), of which she has been a member since 2002. She is a member of the Society of Immunotherapy in Cancer (SITC), the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), the Dermatology Nurses' Association (DNA), and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Ms Rubin was the recipient of the 2010 award for Excellence in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection, from the Oncology Nursing Society, and was the recipient of the 2014 award for Outstanding Community Service from the Dermatology Nurses’ Association.

Brianna Hoffner, MSN, AOCNP®, RN

Brianna Hoffner, MSN, AOCNP®, RN, is the Lead Advanced Practice Provider for Medical Oncology at University of Colorado Hospital, Aurora. She provides clinical care to patients with advanced malignancies and research management for patients on clinical trials. Prior to joining the medical staff at University of Colorado Hospital she worked as the Supervisor of Clinical Research Operations at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute. There, Ms. Hoffner participated in clinical trials leading to the approval of pembrolizumab, nivolumab, trametinib, dabrafenib, T-VEC, and other melanoma therapies. She continues to work with these agents in her current clinical setting.

Ms. Hoffner received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Boston College and Masters of Science Nursing in Adult Oncology from Yale University. She has published in multiple prestigious journals including JAMA, Cancer, and Vaccine and has presented her work at numerous meetings including the Oncology Nursing Society, the Society for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, and JADPRO Live at Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology. Her background in clinical research, immuno-oncology, and direct oncologic nursing care serve to strengthen her credentials for comprehensive care.

Lisa A. Kottschade, APRN, MSN, CNP

Lisa Kottschade is a nurse practitioner and has been the coordinator for the outpatient Oncology Melanoma Practice at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, since 2005, and she is an assistant professor of oncology in the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. Ms. Kottschade graduated with a bachelors degree in nursing from Winona (MN) State University in 1996 and obtained her MSN and Adult Nurse Practitioner certification from St. Louis University in 2005. She is also the Chair of Oncology Nursing for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology as well as the Chief Operations Officer for the Midwest Melanoma Partnership, headquartered in Rochester.

Ms. Kottschade has authored numerous manuscripts and has lectured on various topics relating to the treatment of melanoma and associated side-effect management. Her research interests include that of biomarkers of response as well as management of toxicities related to melanoma treatment.

Kathleen M. Madden, RN, MSN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, APHN

Kathy Madden is a Family Nurse Practitioner in the melanoma/medical oncology group at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Clinical Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City.

Ms Madden serves as a sub-investigator for all melanoma research protocols at the Clinical Cancer Center. Her experience during the past 2 decades at NYU has included working primarily in adult medicine and oncology with a focus on skin cancers, with a main concentration in melanoma. Kathy lectures nationally in her area of expertise and has multiple publications in her specialty. She has also served as clinical adjunct faculty for students working toward their bachelor and master of science degrees in nursing.

Kathy is also passionate about integrative healing arts and holds additional certifications in clinical homeopathy, clinical aromatherapy, and advance practice oncology. She is a practitioner of, and instructor in, the use of IGM®, the Isabell Gatto Method of Intentional Wellness (IGM®) as well as a Clinical Meditation and Imagery and a Caritas coach.

Ms Madden holds board certifications in Advanced Practice in Oncology and Holistic Nursing. She is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology, American Nurses Association, American Holistic Nurses Association (current board member of the NYC chapter), as well as other professional organizations.

Kathy continues to pursue learning experiences that synthesize Eastern and Western modalities, ultimately enhancing and benefitting both personal and professional endeavors.

Suzanne McGettigan, MSN, CRNP, ANP-BC, AOCN®

Suzanne McGettigan is an oncology nurse practitioner and Clinical Manager of Advanced Practice Providers and Nursing at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania in the Division of Hematology-Oncology, Philadelphia. She provides clinical care to patients in the Melanoma and Cutaneous Malignancies Program. She also is a clinical associate at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Through her clinical work Ms. McGettigan has provided care to patients receiving immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy and participated in clinical trials that have led to the approval of these agents.

After graduating from Washington and Lee University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Ms. McGettigan earned both her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Nursing degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She holds certification as an Advanced Oncology Nurse and an Adult Nurse Practitioner. She is an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society and the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology.

Jill Weberding, MPH, BSN, RN, OCN

Jill Weberding, MPH, BSN, RN, OCN, has worked as a oncology nurse for nearly 20 years in community hospitals and community cancer centers. During her nursing career, Jill has worked as a staff nurse on an oncology floor, outpatient infusion nurse, clinical research nurse, clinical trials department manager, nurse and patient educator, and a speaker. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, as well as her Master of Public Health, at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Jill's work with immuno-oncology agents spans more than a decade.

In 2011, she was invited to join the Visionary Immunotherapy Cancer Educators (VOICE) Speakers Bureau with Bristol-Myers Squibb to assist in educating healthcare professionals across the country on the nuances of immune checkpoint inhibitors. In addition to working as an oncology nurse consultant, speaking, and educating nurses and patients, Jill also abstracts oncology data with a company that is building a software platform to connect cancer centers across the country to improve treatment and accelerate research.

Virginia Seery, MSN, RN, ANP-BC

Virginia Seery received her BSN from the University of Maine at Orono and her Masters degree from Yale University School of Nursing. She is an oncology nurse practitioner at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts, where she specializes in the care of patients with melanoma and kidney cancer. She has worked extensively in the field of immunotherapy and participated in the clinical trials that have helped gain FDA approval for several new agents. She has presented nationally and co-authored articles on this topic. Ms Seery also serves on the Cancer.Net Melanoma and Skin Cancer Advisory Panel.

John M. Kirkwood, MD

Dr. John M. Kirkwood received his medical degree from Yale University in 1973 and completed his postgraduate work at Yale–New Haven Hospital and Harvard University/Dana-Farber Cancer Center, Boston, in 1978. He directed the Yale Melanoma Unit (1978–1985) and was the founding Associate Director for Medical Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), where he was Chief of Medical Oncology (1986–1996) and Vice Chairman for Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine (1996–2006). Dr. Kirkwood has directed the Melanoma Center of the UPCI (1986–present) and is the principal investigator of the University of Pittsburgh in the ECOG-ACRIN National Cooperative Group. He has chaired the Melanoma Committee of the ECOG-ACRIN since 1989 and the International Melanoma Working Group since 2004. He holds the Sandra and Thomas Usher Endowed Chair in Melanoma at the UPCI, where he is Professor of Medicine, Dermatology, and Translational Science.

Dr. Kirkwood’s research focuses on melanoma immune-biology, therapy, and prevention. He developed the first FDA-approved immunotherapy for melanoma (1996) and has led immunotherapy development in cancer for the past 45 years, beginning decades before immunotherapy had reached the limelight it has achieved in melanoma and other solid tumors over the past 5 years. He has advanced the multimodal therapy of melanoma with surgery, stereotactic radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and molecular antitumor agents, and is now pioneering new combinations of the 10 recently approved new immunotherapies and molecular therapies that are anticipated to be the focus of the next decade of clinical translational research.

Dr. Kirkwood has advanced new and more efficient trial designs to accelerate regulatory approval of new therapies and combinations. In the International Melanoma Working Group these trials for metastatic disease propose to utilize adaptive design, intermediate endpoints, and a global collaboration among the leading academic institutions and pharmaceutical firms with melanoma advocacy. and regulatory authorities to accelerate the assessment of new agents and combinations. In the US National Cooperative Groups, the national trials he has led have used factorial design and prospective blood and tissue biomarker corollaries to establish and confirm the first effective adjuvant therapy for melanoma. In patients with operable high-risk melanoma, his institutional and regional consortium adjuvant studies have pioneered neoadjuvant trial designs that have illuminated the mechanism of the interferons, checkpoint inhibitors, and multiple combinations that are anticipated to further improve clinical outcomes for operable high-risk melanoma. He is leading efforts to improve early detection and chemoprevention with nutritional agents in patients with earlier primary melanoma that may prevent disease progression from atypical/dysplastic nevus precursors with minimal or no toxicity.

Dr. Kirkwood has trained more than 200 fellows, many of whom are now leaders of melanoma investigation across the United States and in Europe. He has published more than 365 original peer-reviewed articles and 175 reviews, editorials, and chapters. He was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2014 and is a member of AACR, ASC, SITC, and multiple editorial boards of the leading journals in the field of medical oncology, cutaneous oncology, and immunotherapy.

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD

Dr. Antoni Ribas is a professor of medicine, professor of surgery, and professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA. He trained at the University of Barcelona, Spain, earning his medical degree in 1990, and undertook postdoctoral training at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, where he was granted a PhD in 1993. He followed his academic studies with medical experience at the Hospital Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona and postdoctoral training at both the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego and the Hematology–Oncology Fellowship program at UCLA, where he has been a faculty member since July 2001.

Dr. Ribas has focused his research on understanding how the immune system can be used to treat cancer—specifically melanoma—with greater effectiveness and lower levels of toxicity by activating killer immune cells precisely targeted to the cancer. Among his projects are laboratory and clinical translational research in adoptive cell transfer therapies that use T-cell receptor engineered lymphocytes designed to home in on melanoma cells. He is also exploring the potential application of genetically engineered stem cells to the fight against cancer.

In addition to his role at UCLA’s Broad Stem Cell Research Center, Dr. Ribas is a member of the university’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of its Tumor Immunology and Cancer Molecular Imaging program. He is also a permanent committee member of the National Cancer Institute grant review panels and an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation. His clinical research leading to improved treatments for patients with metastatic melanoma was recognized in 2016 by the American Association of Cancer Research with the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award.

Samantha R. Guild, J.D.

Samantha R. Guild, J.D. received her Juris Doctor from McGeorge School of Law. She is the President of AIM at Melanoma which is the largest international melanoma foundation globally engaged and locally invested in advancing the battle against melanoma through innovative research, legislative reform, education, and patient and caregiver support.

Ms. Guild is responsible for the development and implementation of AIM’s U.S. focused educational programs which include the AIM website, Patient Symposiums at major cancer centers throughout the country, social media channels, survivorship program, Melanoma Nurse Initiative (MNI) and general awareness campaigns.  To assure that these programs are widely viewed in person and on-line, she engages with AIM’s public relations firm and other consultants on digital strategy, marketing efforts, improved website SEO, and media outreach.

She also oversees AIM’s legislative efforts. This effort includes protecting teens and the general public from the dangers of indoor tanning devices, which has led to multiple states enacting legislation prohibiting minors’ access to indoor tanning devices.  On behalf of AIM, she also works on state and federal level legislation to support oral parity and biosimilar efforts.

Ms. Guild has been published in the American Journal of Public Health, Journal of Cancer Education, and Pediatric Dermatology.  She has served as an Advocate Reviewer on the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas panel and as a Consumer Reviewer on Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program panel.