Program Book

Keynote Lectures
Lymphoma of the ocular adnexa
Steffen Heegaard, MD
Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Steffen has worked mostly with characterising ocular adnexal lymphoma clinically, pathologically and genetically.
The latest results regarding lacrimal gland lymphoma will be presented in the key note lecture. Also the results of
the latest treatment modalities will be given.
Intraocular melanoma and their metastatic pattern have been described and the invasion pattern into the optic
nerve head has been characterised along with the description of so called neurophilic intraocular melanomas. Also
Melanoma Associated Spongioform Scleropathy has been characterised by the different metalloproteinases and
the possible correlation to extraocular extension of malignant melanoma.
Clinical implications of GNAQ and GNA11 mutations in Uveal Melanoma
Emine Kilic, MD, PhD
Ophthalmology Erasmus MC Rotterdam.
Dr Emine Kilic (Ocular Oncologist and Vitreoretinal surgeon) holds a position as a staff member in the Ophthalmology
department of the Erasmus MC University Hospital, Rotterdam in the Netherlands. She completed her PhD on
genetics of uveal melanoma at the Clinical Genetics and Ophthalmology departments of the Erasmus University
and did her residency in Ophthalmology in the Erasmus MC. She has a special interest in the genetics of Uveal
Melanoma and is a senior researcher in the Rotterdam Ocular Melanoma Studygroup (ROMS). ROMS research
has focussed on the cytogenetic and molecular genetic evaluation of genetic changes in Uveal Melanoma, in
particular on aberrations of chromosomes 1, 3, 6 and 8 and expression profiling of a well-selected subpopulation
of genetically well-characterized tumours. With the availability of newer and more specific techniques for studying
Uveal Melanoma these are further explored and applied for this group of patients. Besides this she is involved in the
study on etiologic factors that may be important in the pathogenesis of Uveal Melanoma and their role in tumour
progression and metastasis.
Insights From Sequencing the Melanoma Exome
Ruth Halaban, PhD
Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine,
New Haven, CT, USA
Ruth Halaban, a Senior Research Scientist/Professor at Yale University School of Medicine, is an established
scientist in the field of pigmentation and melanoma research. Her main scientific contributions are growth factors/
receptors regulating the proliferation and differentiation of normal melanocytes, aberrant autonomous growth
of melanoma cells, molecular biology of melanocyte specific genes, mechanisms of malignant transformation,
epigenetic regulation, signal transduction and drug responses. More recently, she and her colleagues sequenced
~100 melanoma exomes. The results of this effort are now being investigated in the context of melanocyte
transformation, oncogenes/tumor suppressor genes and melanoma cell heterogeneity. Her prominence in the field
of melanocyte and melanoma biology is reflected by her authoring over 121 publications in peer-reviewed journals,
including 19 solicited reviews, and her receipt of numerous awards, such as the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award
in melanoma research granted by the Society of Melanoma Research and this year Myron Gordon medal by the
Inrerbational Federation of Pigment Cell Societies.
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