Joshua Farhadian, FAAD, MD

My interest in cancer research stems from my childhood, when a close family was diagnosed with leukemia.

While an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, I had my first cancer research experience working in a lab at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research. My research there focused on the mechanism by which a protein named MRK is activated and mediates cell cycle arrest in response to ionizing radiation. Subsequently, while a medical student in the honors program at New York University School of Medicine, I continued performing cancer research in the Philips Lab, where I investigated the regulation of a molecule named isoprenylcysteine carboxymethyl transferase (ICMT), which is a protein that plays a role in approximately 25% of all cancers, including skin cancers.

As a medical student at NYU, I completed a year-long research fellowship with the Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group (IMCG) at NYU. Supported by grants from the American Medical Association and the American Skin Association, I, along with my colleagues, uncovered nodular melanoma-specific molecular alterations that are pharmacologically targetable in vitro. Additionally, through our work on melanoma brain metastases and microRNA expression in BRAF mutant primary tumors, we identified previously unknown characteristics of melanoma that may one-day influence its management and treatment.

Since medical school, I have been involved a variety of skin cancer related clinical studies. Most recently, my colleagues and I have researched histologic phenotypes that impart aggressive behavior in squamous cell carcinoma. By identifying high risk features, we hope to help stratify patient