Caroline Robert

Caroline Robert, MD, PhD is Head of the Dermatology Unit and Professor of Dermatology and Oncology at Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR), Villejuif, France. She is one of the most prominent European melanoma researchers and a global leader in targeted therapy and immunotherapy for advanced melanoma. Her career has been defined by pivotal contributions to two transformative treatment revolutions in melanoma: the establishment of BRAF-targeted therapy with vemurafenib and the development of pembrolizumab as a first-in-class anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Dr. Robert was a principal investigator of the BRIM-3 trial, the landmark phase III study that established vemurafenib as superior to dacarbazine chemotherapy in patients with BRAF V600E–mutant advanced melanoma, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011. BRIM-3 led to the first FDA and EMA approval of a BRAF inhibitor in melanoma and opened the era of genotype-matched targeted therapy in this disease. Subsequently, she was a lead European investigator for the KEYNOTE-001 and KEYNOTE-002 trials evaluating pembrolizumab, contributing critical data that shaped the European regulatory approval and clinical adoption of anti-PD-1 therapy in melanoma. Her experience spanning both targeted therapy and immunotherapy has positioned her uniquely to study combination and sequential strategies. Beyond these landmark trials, Professor Robert has led extensive translational research into melanoma biology, including the mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired resistance to BRAF inhibitors, the immunogenic effects of targeted therapy, and biomarkers predicting response to immunotherapy in melanoma. She chairs the ESMO Melanoma Guidelines Committee, serves on EMA and French national guideline panels, and has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications. Her work has been recognized with multiple European and international awards and she is among the most cited melanoma researchers globally.