Richard Essner, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Scientific Director, California Oncology Research Institute

Dr. Richard Essner is Co-Founder and Scientific Director for the California Oncology Research Institute (CORI), and Clinical Professor of Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. As one of the most respected specialists in the study and treatment of melanoma, he directs and manages the treatment and research of melanoma and other skin cancers at CORI. His extensive experiences in both clinical oncology and research provide him opportunities in the development of new approaches for the treatment of metastatic disease and the role of immune function in the regional lymph nodes, including reducing the number of patients requiring lymph node surgery and the understanding of primary melanoma tumors. As a surgeon, his exposure to cancer patients enables him to experience the results of first-hand treatments for melanoma.

Before co-founding CORI, Dr. Essner served as the Assistant Director of Surgical Oncology. Under Dr. Essner’s direction in the Laboratory of Molecular Therapeutics at John Wayne Cancer Institute (JWCI) at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, Dr. Essner advanced research on the study of how melanoma spreads to the lymph nodes. While at JWCI, Dr. Essner trained and mentored fellows in JWCI’s prestigious fellowship program for surgical oncology. He is the author of more than 100 scientific publications and has lectured and presented research data at nearly 70 conferences worldwide.

Dr. Essner is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, and has many notable achievements. He received the American Cancer Society Career Development Award, and he participates as an Ad hoc Editor for the Journal of Surgical Oncology, and as an editorial reviewer for four leading cancer-related oncology publications. As an active researcher and clinician in the field of melanoma, Dr. Essner also participates in 14 active societies, including the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American College of Surgeons. In July, 2007, Dr. Essner was awarded a grant from the National Institute of Health for the study of surgery and the mechanisms of lymph node metastasis in cutaneous melanoma.

Dr. Essner began his surgical oncology career in 1994, after completing a fellowship and extensive surgical oncology program at JWCI. He completed general surgery training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an oncology training program with UCLA. He received his undergraduate and graduate medical education at Emory University.