Dr. Caroline Robert stands as a preeminent leader in the field of dermatological oncology with a singular focus on melanoma treatment and research. She currently serves as Head of the Dermatology Unit at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Europe's largest comprehensive cancer center, and Professor of Dermatology at Paris-Saclay University where she oversees medical education in dermatology and dermato-oncology. After completing her medical training at Paris V University and a research fellowship at Harvard's Brigham & Women's Hospital in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy, she established herself as a rising star in oncology. In 2001, she joined Gustave Roussy as an assistant in dermatology before assuming leadership of the Dermatology Unit in 2005, a position from which she has directed transformative advances in melanoma care.
Dr. Robert's groundbreaking clinical trials evaluating anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD1 antibodies have fundamentally reshaped the therapeutic landscape for advanced melanoma, establishing immune therapies as the cornerstone of treatment where few options previously existed. Her seminal research has demonstrated unprecedented long-term survival benefits for patients with metastatic melanoma, extending outcomes significantly beyond the historically grim prognosis of less than one year. With over 350 peer-reviewed publications, her work has particularly focused on the molecular mechanisms of resistance to both targeted therapies and immunotherapies, with recent investigations centering on the role of mRNA translation control in adaptive resistance. Her discovery of the critical involvement of the mRNA translation initiation complex eIF4F in the post-transcriptional adaptive response of cancer cells has opened new therapeutic avenues for overcoming treatment resistance.
As a national and international coordinator of numerous clinical trials spanning phases I to III, Dr. Robert has been instrumental in bringing innovative melanoma treatments from bench to bedside across multiple continents. Her leadership extends to prominent roles in major oncology societies, including chairing the Melanoma group of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer from 2014 to 2017 and serving on boards of ESMO, EADO, EADV, and ASCO. Recognized with prestigious honors including the Estela Medrano Award from the Society for Melanoma Research and the ESMO Women for Oncology Award, she was elected as a corresponding member of the French National Academy of Medicine in 2019. Currently directing a translational research laboratory with approximately ten scientists, she continues to pioneer investigations into persistent cancer cells and adaptive resistance mechanisms, with her team actively developing novel eIF4A inhibitors and studying metabolic reprogramming to overcome therapeutic resistance in melanoma.
