Dr. Aimee Payne, DF Stiefel Scholar.
FEATURE

Dr. Aimee Payne’s Path to Creating CAAR-T Cell Therapies

In 2011, Aimee Payne, MD, PhD, was running a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, studying pemphigus vulgaris, an autoimmune disease of the skin that results when B cells make antibodies that attack the cell-adhesion protein desmoglein 3.

From the Foundation

2024 DF Clinical Symposium

The DF Clinical Symposium has a reputation for excellence that attracts hundreds yearly to receive a serious, in-depth medical educational experience and support the Foundation’s work.

DF Honorary Awards

DF Honorary Awards

They have in common a desire to share knowledge and shape dermatology — its study and research, its practice, and its care of patients. Their distinctive contributions to dermatology set them apart, and DF pays tribute to them through its Honorary Awards Program.

There are four award categories — Lifetime Career Educator, Practitioner of the Year, Clark W. Finnerud Award, and the Distinguished Service Award, which has been presented only seven times.

Meet the 2023 recipients of a DF Honorary Award: Dr. Timothy Berger, Lifetime Career Educator; Dr. Michael Goldfarb, Practitioner of the Year; Dr. Jeffrey Herten, Clark Finnerud Award; and Dr. John Voorhees, Distinguished Service Medallion.

2023 recipient of the 2023 DF Lifetime Career Educator Award.

Through the Lens of Education

Timothy T. Berger, MD, has always been a visual person and likes the stories art can tell. He understands something in the clinic better when he can draw a picture of it. Dr. Berger was Professor of Clinical Dermatology in the Department of Dermatology at the UCSF School of Medicine and, for his dedication to…

R. Jeffrey Herten is the 2023 recipient of the DF Clark W. Finnerud Award.

In Step With Patients and Residents

For more than 40 years, whether in a clinical setting or within university walls, Dr. Jeffrey Herten, the 2023 DF Clark W. Finnerud Award recipient, has been able to convey his love of the specialty and his compassion towards patients. He graduated from the Medical School of the University of California, Irvine, (UCI) in 1972…

DF SANOFI AND REGENERON DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION MID-CAREER AWARD

One Big Step Toward Health Equity

Sanofi and Regeneron’s generous $1-million donation to the Foundation has enabled the creation of a new DEI-focused award: the DF Sanofi and Regeneron Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mid-Career Research Award. Three exceptional mid-career investigators will receive funding for research issues impacting underrepresented or underserved medical groups.

Sanofi Regeneron
The DF is grateful to Sanofi and Regeneron, now DF platinum sponsors.

The 2024 application deadline for this new mid-career award is December 1st. Award details and application guidance are available on the Foundation website.

Sanofi and Regeneron $1M donation supports health equity

$1M Donation to Support Health Equity

The DF SRDEI award will fund the research of three exceptional mid-career investigators working in diversity-, equity- and inclusion-related research.

CS 2023 Plenary Sessions
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CS 2023 Plenary Sessions

It’s not often you can surround yourself with experts in your field who are as willing to engage with you as you are with them—not unless you attend DF’s annual Clinical Symposium. Year after year, the event gathers illustrious speakers as well as kudos. People come to converse, learn, and debate.

We’ve selected summaries of mini-symposia presentations delivered in 2023 by Drs. Adewole Adamson, Crystal Aguh, Christian Baum, Daniel Bennett, Brittany Craiglow, John Harris, Jennifer Huang, Megan Noe, Aimee Payne, Michael Rosenblum, and Christopher Sayed.

If you missed the 2024 DF Clinical Symposium in January, watch this space for summaries of the plenary sessions in upcoming issues of Dermatology Focus.

Stuff I Worry About: High-Risk Squamous Cell Carcinoma and High-Risk Patients

Dr. Baum presented information about tumor- and patient-specific risk factors for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC). First, Dr. Baum noted that the cSCC incidence in the US is increasing, with an estimated 180,000–520,000 new cases annually and a metastatic rate of 2–5%. Patients with bulky nodal disease have higher recurrence rates and lower overall survival…

In-Transit Melanoma Metastases

Dr. Baum described melanoma in-transit metastases (ITMs) and presented an overview of current treatments. Melanoma ITMs are lesions that develop between the primary tumor site and the draining nodal basin via lymphatic seeding, separate from spreading in the blood. ITMs occur in 5–10% of patients with melanoma and typically develop within 13–18 months. Fifty percent…

Cancer Overdiagnosis: A Dermatopathologist’s Perspective

Dr. Bennett shared his perspective on melanoma overdiagnosis and how to address the problem. First, Dr. Bennett advised dermatologists to be careful about the language they use to describe melanoma screening and diagnosis. “Overdiagnosis” means using current diagnostic criteria to correctly diagnose a condition that may not harm the patient. Overdiagnosis does not mean misdiagnosis….