........................................................................................................................................ 7 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. 14 List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. 16 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Melanoma ......................................................................................................................... 17 1.2 DNA Damage, DNA Repair and Malignancy................................................................... 19 1.3 Ultraviolet Light ................................................................................................................ 21 1.3.1 Spectrum of UV-Induced DNA Damage ................................................................... 22 1.3.2 UVA-Induced Melanomagenesis: Elucidating a Mechanism .................................... 23 1.4 Nucleotide Excision Repair .............................................................................................. 25 1.4.1 The NER Pathway: Two Damage Detection Mechanisms Convergent on a Common Repair Pathway ................................................................................................................... 25 1.4.2 NER Disorders ........................................................................................................... 28 1.5 Nucleotide Excision Repair: DNA damage response to UVA .......................................... 30 1.5.1 Cellular Response to UV ............................................................................................ 30 1.5.2 Induction of NER ....................................................................................................... 31 1.5.3 NER Function in Melanoma ...................................................................................... 32 1.5.4 Future Directions in Investigating Regulation of NER in Melanoma: Epigenetics and Epitranscriptomics .............................................................................................................. 34 Chapter 2: Nucleotide Excision Repair Function in Melanoma in Response to UVA ............... 36 2.