Articles by Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer
Overcoming Targeted Therapy Resistance
By Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer | 22 February 2019 In Science, Treatment
Targeted therapies work well for many patients, but most will go on to develop acquired resistance. Researchers are working to address this challenge. Learn about two promising examples.
Melanoma Treatment Advances – 2018 in Review
By Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer | 18 January 2019 In Science, Treatment
2018 brought new and expanded drug approvals that give patients, doctors, and their families more treatment options with fewer side effects. Learn more about important melanoma treatment advances in 2018.
About the Author
Marc Hurlbert, PhD, MRA Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Marc Hurlbert, a pharmacologist by training, was appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Melanoma Research Alliance on May 1, 2022. In this role, Marc is responsible for setting and executing the strategic direction of the organization and its science programs.
Previous to his appointment as CEO, Dr. Hurlbert served as MRA's Chief Science Officer. In this role, he was responsible for guiding MRA’s scientific strategy, overseeing the peer-reviewed grant-making program, and forging scientific collaborations. Under his leadership, MRA dramatically expanded investment in and focus on rare melanoma subtypes, brain metastases and leptomeningeal disease and broadened support for prevention and early detection of melanoma through novel technologies such as machine learning. He has more than 20 years of nonprofit and grant-making experience focused on advancing medical research. Past work has included treatment and prevention strategies for breast cancer, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, as well as juvenile diabetes. In addition, Marc led the expansion of public health programs to enable low-income, uninsured and minority patient populations diagnosed with cancer to access treatments and care across the US, and in developing countries around the world.
Dr. Hurlbert comes to MRA after serving for three years as the Chief Mission Officer at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). At BCRF Marc oversaw a $60-million annual research program supporting 300 scientists in 15 countries, spanning all aspects of cancer from basic biology and prevention, to developing new treatments and to quality of life research. Prior to BCRF, Marc served as a scientific director at the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, as a scientific consultant and on the staff of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).
In 2013, Dr. Hurlbert co-founded and served as Chair for the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance, a leading coalition of 30 nonprofits, 11 pharmaceutical companies, and dozens of patients that works together to advance research and improve the quality of life for patients with metastatic disease. During his five years as Chair, the Alliance conducted and published a comprehensive research landscape analysis, conducted two national awareness campaigns reaching millions of people, developed two new tools for patients to find clinical trials, forged partnerships with NCI and the FDA, and conducted 4 epidemiology research studies.
He earned a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Colorado, and completed a fellowship at the New York University Medical Center. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Kansas.