Robert Goodloe is the fifth Outrun the Sun Scholar at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. Robert is currently pursing his Ph.D. in Epidemiology with a minor in Population Health Analytics. He previously earned a master’s degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Case Western Reserve University and spent five years conducting research on how genetics may influence health and disease. Robert also spent 13 years in the pharmaceutical industry, where he focused on using health and patient data to better understand the safety and effectiveness of medications.

Today, Robert is turning his attention to an important question about vitiligo and melanoma. Vitiligo is a condition that causes patches of skin to lose their pigment. Robert’s research will examine whether people with vitiligo have a different risk of developing melanoma and, importantly, whether that risk differs among racial and ethnic groups.

To conduct his research, Robert will use data from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program, which includes health information from a large and diverse group of people across the United States. This broad range of participants will allow him to look at differences in melanoma risk that may not be visible in smaller studies.

Robert will also take into account an important factor: people with vitiligo may see dermatologists more often than others, which could mean that melanoma is detected earlier or more frequently simply because they receive more skin examinations. His research will account for differences in healthcare visits to help ensure that the results provide a more accurate picture of melanoma risk.

Ultimately, Robert hopes his research will help scientists and healthcare providers better understand who is at risk for melanoma and why. This knowledge could lead to improved ways of identifying people at higher risk and help ensure that melanoma prevention and early-detection strategies are effective for diverse populations.