A common passion for prevention and saving lives.

Introduction

It is amazing what can happen when you have motivated medical students, a committed faculty advisor who is an assistant professional in family medicine, and an ENT surgeon who is a runner and a dad.

Read how great things happen when highly motivated and committed people set out to make a difference, and their paths converge.

Path 1: The MyVoice National Poll of Youth, Dr. Tammy Chang and Two University of Michigan Medical Students

In 2021, Arianna Strome and Kelsey Herbert, both University of Michigan medical students, were researching sunscreen use and perception in youth through their work with MyVoice with Dr. Tammy Chang.

MyVoice is an adolescent health research platform led by Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., assistant professor in the department of family medicine. Dr. Tammy Chang is also the faculty advisor to what has become the medical student-led Community Sunscreen Initiative.

Medical students Arianna and Kelsey leveraged the MyVoice platform to reach adolescents aged 14-24 via text messages with a brief survey focused on understanding their perception of using sunscreen and their use of sunscreen.

The survey results showed that youth respondents understood both the short- and long-term risks of sun exposure and believed that sun protection is important. Nearly all youth reported using sunscreen, though nearly all also reported experiencing numerous sunburns. The findings suggested a discrepancy between knowledge and real-life implementation of sun protection due to access and convenience.

With these survey results, Arianna and Kelsey began forming an initiative to make sunscreen accessible on campus and in the greater community.

Implementing a Program to Address the Survey Findings: Making Free Sunscreen Accessible

University of Michigan medical students Arianna and Kelsey had the data they needed to achieve a sustainable culture shift in skin cancer prevention by normalizing the effective use of sunscreen on the University of Michigan campus and in the greater Washtenaw County community so that it was accessible and convenient for all.

Their project aimed to improve the well-being of the local community in Michigan by increasing access to sun protection and making it more convenient. The two partnered with the national non-profit IMPACT Melanoma and their Practice Safe Skin program to install sunscreen dispensers in targeted areas for access to freesunscreen with an initial pilot program.

To launch the one-year pilot program spanning 2022 & 2023, the students worked with the Rogel Cancer Center, the National Cancer Institute affiliated with University of Michigan, to fund the initial sunscreen dispensers for outdoor sporting events to promote use and reapplication. All involved in the initial one-year pilot agreed the test was a success and the effort was set up to expand.

Path 2: Dr. Scott McLean, University of Michigan and a Service Trip to Peru

As a medical student, Scott McLean, was working in an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgical unit for head and neck surgeries including skin cancer-related surgeries. McLean had the opportunity to join his professor and surgeon from this unit who was going to Peru for a one-month mission trip. Scott went on the trip, a decision that changed the trajectory of his career.

Given its high elevation, skin cancer was rampant in Peru. Scott worked alongside the professor, assisting in and watching a wide variety of surgeries, including skin cancer surgeries, caused by people spending a lot of time outdoors and being exposed to the sun’s harmful UV rays. It was from this trip that McLean pursued a career in ENT surgery including sinus and skull-based cancers including anterio skin cancer that he saw in Peru, a type that is especially difficult to treat.

So, Dr. McLean put a plan into action to provide sunscreen to protect the marching band members. He launched Tailgate to Tackle, a melanoma fundraiser that raises money to fund having a sunscreen dispenser and sunscreen for the band and others at the stadium. The program has been going strong now for many years. He meets the band members every year in August and does a brief, comical, five minute talk about sunscreen use and protecting one’s skin.

At the time of capturing this story, Tailgate to Tackle was in year six and going strong in making sunscreen accessible at the University of Michigan.

McLean shares that a patient of his, a melanoma survivor and a runner, spoke with Dr. McLean about the need for sunscreen to be more accessible. Through this relationship, McLean ran the Boston Marathon and happened to notice one of many Team IMPACT runners during the marathon race, running to raise money for IMPACT Melanoma. He made a mental note of this running bib and his desire to learn more about IMPACT Melanoma and being a future Team IMPACT marathoner.

Isn’t it great how paths cross over time? McLean and has been a loyal supporter of IMPACT Melanoma ever since and an important catalyst to enable the program to take deep roots on the University of Michigan’s campus and to reach surrounding communities.

“We need more people talking about the risks of sun exposure and the importance of protection including regular use of sunscreen. This is where IMPACT Melanoma is making an impact,” says Dr. Scott McLean.

A Side Bar in this Story: The Importance of Sustainability

IMPACT Melanoma distinguishes its programs by offering support and resources necessary to take a great idea and implement it so that it grows roots and is sustainable.

The two medical students who initially got involved with MyVoice under the leadership of Dr. Tammy Chang were wise in how they developed a model that could be repeated with simple yet essential processes and responsibilities to enable the initial pilot to extend and expand each year.

When asked, Dr. Tammy Chang makes it very clear that the success of the program is fully attributed to the medical students, “I am just the faculty advisor. My role is easy. It is the medical students who have made this effort a success, as they hand the baton to new medical students to ensure there is continuity and clarity of roles over the years.”

The two students who launched the sunscreen dispenser program in collaboration with IMPACT Melanoma at the University of Michigan were able to move on to their residencies confidently. They knew that two equally passionate medical students—familiar with their work and committed to dermatology—were ready to take over the program.

Olivia Lamberg was one of the medical students next in line, instrumental in building on the momentum of Kelsey and Arianna as she took over leading the program, referred to as the Community Sunscreen Initiative, having learned from them and recruited a younger M2 medical student, Svati Pazhyanur to get involved.

The two current program leaders are now Svati, a year four medical student who has been actively involved for two years and Rana Chouaib, a second-year medical student.

The model is in place to collaborate with the community partners through Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation and with campus contacts through the athletic department to confirm sunscreen dispenser locations for the upcoming season and to confirm maintenance and refills of every dispenser to ensure all are fully operational and have an ample supply of sunscreen. Keeping the dispensers clean is important to the program’s success, because it encourages ongoing usage in high-traffic areas.

Two Paths Merge to Expand Practice Safe Skin throughout University of Michigan and Local Communities

The two separate paths to provide access to free sunscreen use on campus and in the greater community have converged. With a common goal, there is great respect and admiration for the individual efforts that Dr. McLean launched initially for the band and the program launched as an outcome of the MyVoice research under Dr. Chang’s leadership and the impact of her vast expertise in family medicine and Public Health.

The effort focused on accessible sunscreen continues to build momentum and has expanded every year since the pilot.

After the pilot year, the Community Sunscreen Initiative expanded to reach local parks and recreation locations targeting community pools and popular parks. The Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Department has become an important partner in identifying locations, and in maintenance and refills. University of Michigan students also provide maintenance and refill the sunscreen dispensers with a regular schedule in place.

The 2025 Community Sunscreen Initiative season will continue to provide free sunscreen to university athletic fields, the marching band, and ten parks through parks and recreation where the dispensers rotate. Expansion will reach high risk communities including Huron High School, Pathways to Success, an alternative high school, and Ypsilanti Community High School reaching a diverse population. The current program leaders, Svati and Rana, also hope to reach community summer camps.

The Michigan Cancer Consortium

The Michigan Cancer Consortium and the Rogel Cancer Center hosted a Lunch-and-Learn via Zoom and invited Svati to speak about the Community Sunscreen Initiative. She shared updates on the sunscreen dispenser program, their model for sustaining the program, and an overview of how the program has expanded each year.

Many universities, medical schools, and cancer coalitions attended the event and are now seeking to model their community outreach by involving their university medical schools, both medical and undergraduate students, and partnering with cancer coalitions and consortiums to include parks and recreation programs.

Conclusion

IMPACT Melanoma is proud to refer to the University of Michigan, the Rogel Cancer Center, and the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation department as Partners in Prevention. We are honored to support your impressive efforts by leveraging our Practice Safe Skin program, bringing access to free sunscreen to promote adopting healthy sunsafe habits.

Fourth-year University of Michigan medical student Svati Pazhyanur sums up the urgency and mission of the Community Sunscreen Initiative, “We have to make being sunsafe easy and that means making sunscreen widely accessible, so we eliminate the hurdles of forgetting to put it on and forgetting to bring it with you to reapply.

Sunscreen is expensive and that hurdle is eliminated by our efforts to secure funding through Rogel Cancer Center to fund access to free sunscreen via dispensers throughout communities, especially communities at high risk.”

Contact us to become a Partner in Prevention and make great things happen in your community including preventing skin cancer and saving lives.

Learn more about Practice Safe Skin and our other programs.

If you are a medical student and interested in dermatology, IMPACT Melanoma encourages you to learn more about DIGA, the Dermatology Interest Group Association and by being a member, join us in effectively implementing our programs at your university or campus. Learn more about what IMPACT Melanoma offers DIGA students.