Cutaneous melanoma is a tumour that develops in the pigment producing cells of the skin, called the melanocytes. It is the most aggressive and lethal form of skin cancer and is the leading cause of death from skin disease. Rates of melanoma cases in the UK have risen faster than any other common cancer (quadrupling since the 1970s), and the disease has less than a 15% five-year survival rate. There are discrete subpopulations of cells within tumours that provide tumour maintenance, tumour establishment and drug resistance, and their function therefore has a marked effect on patient survival. Here we aim to isolate such subpopulations in melanoma and characterise their cell surface protein expression profiles in detail, using a powerful technique called phage display. This will allow us to identify novel cell surface markers on these tumourigenic subpopulations compared to other ‘bulk' cell types within the tumour, with the aim to discover prognostic and diagnostic markers, and novel drug delivery targets for example in the development of functionalised nanocarriers. Overall, the data generated from this research will be used to help develop novel treatment strategies to improve malignant melanoma patient prognosis and therefore reduce fatalities caused by skin cancers.