Stephanie Bollard 

Name: Dr Stephanie Marie Bollard

Job Title/Professional Qualifications: Specialist Registrar in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital; PhD Candidate at University College Dublin, MB BCh BAO, MCh, MRCSI

Research keywords: Melanoma, skin cancer, extracellular vesicles, comparative oncology, plastic surgery

Current research projects: PREDiCt - MM : Investigation Of The Paracrine Roles Of Extracellular Vesicle Derived Chemokines In Malignant Melanoma Progression

Contact details:
• Email: (opens in a new window)stephanie.bollard1@ucdconnect.ie
• Twitter: steph_bollard
• LinkedIn: (opens in a new window)https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-bollard/
• ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3220-6903

Highlight Publication: Circulating Melanoma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: Impact on Melanoma Diagnosis, Progression Monitoring, and Treatment Response (opens in a new window)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33353043/

Melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer, responsible for most skin cancer deaths. We still know very little about how melanoma spreads through the body. We need this knowledge to produce better treatments. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are small packets that carry messages between cells and help cancer cells to grow and spread through the body. There has been a lot of research looking at the role of these EVs in melanoma.

Dogs and horses, like humans, can have melanoma and are treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Melanoma in our pets and companions can also spread, and in general spreads faster than in humans. This quicker progression and survival time may allow us to find results in a shorter time if we investigate the role these EVs play in dogs and horses also.

What is the significance of this publication? This paper summarises and suggests how these EVs can help us to treat melanoma and better ways to pick it up earlier in both humans, dogs and horses.