In recognition of the compassionate care he shows to his patients, University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Surgery faculty member Martin McCarter, MD, received the Melanoma Research Foundation’s 2025 Humanitarian Award at the organization’s Denver Gala on September 18.
McCarter — professor of surgical oncology, the Gary, Debbie, and Brandon Mandelbaum Endowed Chair in Melanoma Research, and surgical director of the Esophageal and Gastric Multidisciplinary Clinic at the CU Cancer Center — is a national leader in immunotherapy for melanoma — in particular, the emerging field of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), a process in which a tumor is removed from the patient and the immune cells that recognize the tumor are extracted. Those cells are grown to large numbers in the laboratory, then re-infused into the patient to attack the tumor throughout the body.
We spoke with McCarter about the award and his melanoma research.