Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, director of the Tom C. Mathews Jr. Familial Melanoma Research Clinic and an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, is a dermatologist using basic science research and state-of-the-art technology to combat skin cancer.

Leachman examines the role of differential gene expression and genetic predisposition in the development of melanoma, with an emphasis on the familial melanoma syndrome. Through her investigations, she hopes to develop agents that will serve as diagnostic tools, prognostic indicators, or therapeutic modalities in the treatment of melanoma. Her clinical interests include skin cancers, especially melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma and pigmentary disorders that result from abnormalities of melanocytes.

Leachman was a key figure in developing the multidisciplinary melanoma program at Huntsman Cancer Institute and now serves as deputy director of the group. The program brings together researchers and physicians with an interest in melanoma in order to bring knowledge and expertise from the laboratory into the clinical realm. By applying the latest scientific technology to the problem of human cancer, Leachman and her colleagues strive to improve the medical community's ability to diagnose and treat skin cancers.

Before joining Huntsman Cancer Institute, Leachman was a fellow in dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine, where she worked on a DNA vaccination study to prevent and treat papillomavirus-induced squamous cell carcinoma. She earned her MD and PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and was awarded the prestigious Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award in 2000.