Dr. Barnhill has published more than 200 original scientific research papers in peer reviewed international journals. His major research interests include all aspects of the biology of melanocytic lesions, the mechanism of melanoma spread and metastasis, and particularly angiotropic melanoma and extravascular migratory metastasis.

Representative Publications

1. Barnhill RL, Gupta K. Unusual variants of malignant melanoma. Clin Dermatol. 2009 Nov-Dec;27(6):564-87. doi: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2008.09.015. Review. PMID:19880044

2. Lugassy C, Torres-Muñoz JE, Kleinman HK, Ghanem G, Vernon S, Barnhill RL. Overexpression of malignancy-associated laminins and laminin receptors by angiotropic human melanoma cells in a chick chorioallantoic membrane model. J Cutan Pathol. 2009 Dec;36(12):1237-43. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0560.2009.01273.x. PMID:19469865

3. Barnhill RL, Benson PJ, Lugassy C. Conspicuous Angiotropism of Malignant Melanoma Involving the Brain: Implications for Extravascular Migratory Metastasis. Am J Dermatopathol. 2009:31:205-208. PMID: 19318812.

4. Barnhill RL, Cerroni L, Cook M, Elder DE,  Kerl H, LeBoit PE, McCarthy SW, Mihm MC, Mooi  WJ, Piepkorn MW, Prieto VG, Scolyer RA. State of the Art, Nomenclature, and Points of Consensus and Controversy Concerning Benign Melanocytic Lesions: Outcome of an International Workshop. Advan Anat Pathol.2010;17(2):73-90.

5. Fisher DE, Barnhill R, Hodi FS, Herlyn M, Merlino G, Medrano E, Bastian B, Landi TM, Sosman J.  Melanoma from Bench to Bedside: Meeting Report from the 6th International Melanoma Congress. Pigment Cell Mel Res. 2010;23(1):14-26.

6. Gerami P, Barnhill RL, LeBoit PE, Schneider P, Guitart J.  Superficial Melanocytic Neoplasms with Pagetoid Melanocytosis: A Study of Inter-Observer Concordance and Correlation with FISH Am J Surg Pathol 2010;34(6):816-21.

7. Broekaert SMC, Roy R, Okamoto I, van den Oord J, Bauer J, Garbe C, Barnhill RL, Busam KJ, Cochran AJ, Cook MG, Elder DE, McCarthy SW, Mihm MC, Schadendorf D, Scolyer RA, Spatz A, Bastian  BC.  Genetic and morphologic features for melanoma classification. Pigment Cell Mel Res. 2010;23:763-770. 

8. Barnhill RL, Chastain MA, Jerdan MS, Lebbé C, Janin A, Lugassy C. Angiotropic Neonatal Congenital Melanocytic Nevus: How Extravascular Migration of Melanocytes may Explain the Development of Congenital Nevi. 2010.  Am J Dermatopathol. 2010 Jul;32(5):495-9. PMID: 20442637.

9. Barnhill RL, Kutzner H, Schmidt B, Ali L, Bagot M, Janin A, Lugassy C. Atypical spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms with angiotropism: a potential mechanism of locoregional involvement. Am J Dermatopathol. 2011 May;33(3):236-43. doi: 10.1097/DAD.0b013e3181f8c0e1. PubMed PMID: 21389834.

10. Barnhill RL, Busam KJ, From L, Bagot M, Lugassy C, Berwick M. Inter-observer concordance for the recognition of angiotropism in human melanoma. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2011 Jun;24(3):582-3. PMID: 21466662.

11. Lugassy C, Lazar V, Dessen P, van den Oord JJ, Winnepenninckx V, Spatz A, Bagot M, Bensussan A, Janin A, Eggermont AM, Barnhill RL. Gene expression profiling of human angiotropic primary melanoma: Selection of 15 differentially expressed genes potentially involved in Extravascular Migratory Metastasis. European Journal of Cancer. 2011 May;47(8):1267-75. PMID:21334873.

12. Frangos JE, Duncan LM, Piris A, Nazarian RM, Mihm MC Jr, Hoang MP, Gleason B, Flotte TJ, Byers HR, Barnhill RL, Kimball AB. Increased diagnosis of thin superficial spreading melanomas: A 20-year study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2011 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 22153791.