Skin Cancer Institute receives national excellence award

Oct. 21, 2024

By Kristen Cook, U of A Office of Health Sciences Communications

Portrait of Dr. Clara Curiel co-director of the University of Arizona Skin Cancer Institute — Clara Curiel, MD

The University of Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute received the Team Excellence in Cancer Awareness Award from the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Congressional Families Program.

Clara Curiel, MD, co-director of the U of A Skin Cancer Institute, and Dylan Miller, MPH, the institute’s senior program coordinator for outreach and education, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the foundation’s 31^st annual Action for Cancer Awareness Awards luncheon Sept. 19 at the Library of Congress. The Skin Cancer Institute received the Team Excellence Award for their successful Students Are Sun Safe program and the expansion of training community members to become Community Ambassadors in Skin Cancer Prevention.

“Meeting with the Prevent Cancer Foundation team and members of Congress and families was a unique venue to highlight the needs that we have in Arizona and the public health gap we’re trying to close,” said Curiel, who is a professor and chief of the Division of Dermatology at the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson.

The Congressional Families Program recognizes the contributions of those working to educate the public about cancer prevention and early detection.

Portrait of Dylan Miller senior program coordinator for outreach and education of the University of Arizona Skin Cancer Institute. — Dylan Miller, MPH

Since 2012, the SASS program has been a service-learning course for students at the U of A, under the direction of Robin Harris, PhD, professor emerita in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. This course annually trains 20-30 undergraduate and graduate students to prepare and present skin cancer prevention messaging to community groups and middle and high school students. These U of A SASS students become part of the Outreach Team of the Skin Cancer Institute.

As part of his acceptance of the Team Excellence award, Miller said following a skin cancer presentation to a group of construction workers, one man reported back to him that he was prompted to get a skin cancer screening that caught a skin cancer lesion, which was successfully removed without further consequences.

“Everyone has skin. So, everyone needs to protect it,” Miller said.

Miller also said that the Community Ambassadors for Skin Cancer Prevention Program received approval to offer continuing education units through the university.