His research interests focused on leucocyte-cancer cell fusion with resultant hybrid formation as a mechanism of melanoma metastasis (see Lazova et al., 2013) He authored nearly 200 peer-reviewed papers in the areas of skin pigmentation and melanoma metastasis and was past president of the Pan American Society for Pigment Cell Research. He published seminal works on melanocortin-1 receptors, melanocortin action and UV light, and the enzymology of melanogenesis--including discovery of the melanogenesis enzyme dopachrome tautomerase. He won several awards for this work, including the PASPCR Career Achievement Award, the IFPCS inaugural award of the Henry Stanley Raper Medal, and the JSPCR award of the Takeuchi Medal. He frequently lectured at scientific conferences in the U.S. and abroad.