The Tara Miller Professor of Melanoma Research & Patient Care

Tara Miller, an extraordinary and courageous young woman, was diagnosed with melanoma in July of 2013 at the age of 28.  She found her way to Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center and Dr. Lynn Schuchter, who made sure Tara had the most groundbreaking treatments as they each became available, though unfortunately that was not enough. 

Tara’s unimaginable strength and positivity in the face of this terrible disease inspired so many. 

 She founded the Tara Miller Melanoma Foundation in 2014 to raise critical funds and support the research needed to treat and ultimately cure this devastating disease. Tara made it clear that despite her outcome, she wanted everyone to continue her mission to change the odds for patients with melanoma.  In the past ten years, the foundation has raised more than $6.4 million in research funding through its annual “Make the Best of It Bash.” Because of the research funded, the odds for melanoma patients are truly improving. 

 The Miller family established the Tara Miller Professor of Melanoma Research & Patient Care at the Abramson Cancer Center in 2018 to honor their daughter and sister, Tara, who lost her battle with melanoma on October 14, 2014, at the age of 29. Tara’s lasting legacy is one of hope, and she continues to be a daily inspiration. Her passion, love, and selflessness continue to have a deep and profound effect on everyone who hears her story – there is truly no greater legacy she could have left behind. 

Current Chairholder
Ravi Amaravadi, MD

Dr. Amaravadi received his BA in Biochemistry from Columbia University and his MD from Johns Hopkins University. He completed an internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and completed a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine in 2006.

After completing his medical training, Dr. Amaravadi joined the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor of Medicine. He would become an Adjunct Professor at the Wistar Institute and was then promoted to Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021, Dr. Amaravadi was named Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he has led state-of-the-art research in understanding and treating melanoma.

Currently, Dr. Amaravadi serves as Associate Director of Translational Research at the Abramson Cancer Center (ACC); co-leader of the Cancer Therapeutics Program at the ACC; Co-Director of the University of Pennsylvania/Wistar Institute SPORE in Skin Cancer; and Scientific Director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center (TMMC), among other roles and honors.

Dr. Amaravadi’s work on melanoma has been revolutionary, having been among the very first researchers to tackle resistance to therapy. He currently focuses on five key areas: conducting preclinical and translational studies to understand how the lysosome is a druggable resistance mechanism in cancer; launching multiple clinical trials that target the lysosome in cancer; synthesizing and characterizing autophagy inhibitors that target multiple types of cancer; developing clinical trials for melanoma using combination strategies of BRAF inhibitors and immunotherapy; and elucidating how to use RNA to treat advanced melanoma.