Who are the WCD 2019 Keynote Lectureship Speakers?

[ric id="2776" srcmoduleimage="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WCD-2019-Keynotes-360x260.png" srcsquare="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WCD-2019-Keynotes-360x360.png" srcoriginal="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WCD-2019-Keynotes-450x450.png" srcvideo="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WCD-2019-Keynotes-320x180.png" srcnarrow="https://ilds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/WCD-2019-Keynotes-475x100.png" format="original" alt="" caption="WCD 2019 Keynote speakers" classes="center"] Rox Anderson Rox Anderson graduated from MIT and received his MD degree magna cum laude from the joint MIT-Harvard medical program, Health Sciences and Technology. After completing his dermatology residency and an NIH research fellowship at Harvard, he joined the faculty where he is now a Professor and Director of the Wellman Centre for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr Anderson conceived and developed many of the non-scarring laser treatments now widely used in medical care. These include treatments for birthmarks, microvascular and pigmented lesions, tattoos, permanent hair removal, treatment of vocal chords and glaucoma. His research provided insights about biological tissue optics, laser-tissue optics, laser-tissue interaction mechanisms, photodynamic therapy and optical diagnostics. He co-invented fractional laser treatment and selective fat removal by tissue cooling. Recently he invented and developed new devices for wound grafting without scarring. Giuseppe Argenziano Giuseppe Argenziano is full Professor and Head of the Dermatology Unit at the University of Campania, Naples, Italy. His main research field is dermato-oncology, being the author of numerous scientific articles and books concerning dermoscopy, a new technique improving the clinician’s detection of benign and malignant skin tumours. As coordinator of a Skin Cancer Unit, he has established a successful tertiary, multidisciplinary, referral centre particularly devoted to the diagnosis and management of patients with skin tumours. Jonathan Barker Jonathan Barker is Professor of Medical Dermatology and Head of St John’s Institute of Dermatology, King’s College London and honorary consultant dermatologist at Guy’s and St. Thomas’s Hospitals. He specialises in complex hospital based medical dermatology. He is head of the severe psoriasis service and co-director of the Skin Therapy Research Unit. His research extends from genetic discovery through to clinical outcome measurement and has been funded from multiple sources including European Union and Medical Research Council (MRC UK). He is a key investigator in international consortia aiming to identify susceptibility genes in important chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis, acne and eczema. Leena Bruckner-Tudermann Leena Bruckner-Tuderman is Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University Medical Center, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg. She studied medicine in Oulu, Finland, and after an experimental dissertation in molecular medicine, continued her postdoctoral work in biochemistry in Piscataway, N.J., USA, and in structural biology in Basel, Switzerland. She specialized in dermatology and qualified for her state doctorate (Habilitation) at University of Zurich, Switzerland, 1988. From 1990 to 1994 she was a Score-Fellow of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Thereafter she became a Heisenberg fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and moved to the Münster University, Germany. Since 2007 she is fellow and deputy director of the School of Life Sciences – LIFENET of the newly founded institute, FRIAS, Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies. Her research focus is molecular genetics and disease mechanisms of skin disorders, the biology of basement membranes and the extracellular matrix, epithelial-mesenchymal communication, cell-matrix interactions. Development of cell-, gene- and protein-based therapies. Angela Christiano Angela Christiano has been a member of the Faculty of Columbia University in New York City since her arrival in 1995 as an Assistant Professor and has steadily ascended in rank to a tenured Professorship and Vice Chair of Research in Dermatology and Genetics and Development. Her work has had a transformative impact on the field of investigative dermatology for nearly 20 years. She began her research career by studying epidermolysis bullosa, a severe inherited blistering disease for which she discovered many of the causative genes and provided a framework for molecular diagnosis of the disease. More recently, she has turned her attention to studying the genetics of alopecia and other hair disorders, primarily because she herself suffers from alopecia areata, an autoimmune form of hair loss. Her team led a series of large scale genetic studies that defined the genetic basis of alopecia areata in the past few years, which revealed important insights about unexpected therapeutic targets. Her studies in alopecia areata have transformed our understanding of disease pathogenesis, and also identified the first class of drugs with mechanism-based efficacy. Michele De Luca Michele De Luca has dedicated most of his scientific activities to translational medicine. He is recognised as leading scientist in human squamous epithelial stem cell biology aimed at the development of epithelial stem cell-mediated cell therapy and gene therapy. Michele De Luca and his historic collaborator Graziella Pellegrini, were first to establish human urethral stem cell culture aimed at urethral regeneration in posterior hypospadias. They then developed human limbal stem cell culture for corneal regeneration in patients with severe limbal stem cell deficiency. This treatment leads to recovery of normal vision and is now used worldwide. In February 2015 such cultures were formally approved as an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product by EMA, which registered them under the name of Holoclar. De Luca and Pellegrini are also pioneering ex-vivo epithelial stem cell-mediated gene therapy for genetic skin diseases. Michele De Luca is internationally recognised for his experience in stem cell therapy and contributed to two reports by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, dealing with new guidelines for responsible translational stem cells research. Ncoza Dlova Ncoza Dlova is an Associate Professor, Chief Specialist and Head of Dermatology at the Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM), Durban, South Africa. She coordinates undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research programmes within the department. Her research interests are on Ethnic Skin and Hair, Pigmentation disorders, as well as HIV and Skin. Prof Dlova is the member of the International Society of Dermatology (ISD) and serves as an Executive member for the Maria Duran Fellowship subcommittee, member of the Dermatology Society of South Africa, Senior Examiner, Convener and member of the South African College of Dermatologists, American Women’s Dermatology Society. She is an Executive member of the newly formed African Society of Dermatology and Venereology (ASDV). She is the Inaugural President of the newly formed Women's Dermatological Society of South Africa (WDS-SA). Ilona Frieden Ilona Frieden is a Professor of Pediatrics and Dermatology, Vice-Chair of Dermatology, and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. She has been President of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology, President of the American Board of Dermatology and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology, and is currently President of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies. She has been co-editor-in-chief of the journal, Pediatric Dermatology for 12 years and is co-editor of the textbook Neonatal and Infant Dermatology, now in its 3rd edition. She has authored more than 300 articles and numerous book chapters. In 2001 she helped to found one of the first collaborative research groups in Pediatric Dermatology, the Hemangioma Investigator Group. Michel Gilliet A specialist in cutaneous immune response and development of immunotherapy for melanoma, Michel Gilliet was appointed full professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of UNIL and head of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology of the CHUV in December 2010. Prof Gilliet obtained his medical degree at the University of Zurich in 1995. He continued his postgraduate training in experimental medicine first, then in dermatology from 1997 to 2004, when he received his FMH in dermatology. During this period, he also spent two years (1999-2001) at the DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2009 he became the co-director of the Center Cancer Inflammation with an affiliation to three Departments: for the clinic, the Department of Dermatology and, for research, the Departments of Immunology and Oncology medical melanoma. In this renowned centre, Michel Gilliet provides dermatology consultation and training of assistant doctors. He devotes more than half of his time to research activities and deals in particular with the follow-up of melanomas, through immunotherapy protocols. A specialist in the cutaneous immune response, his researcher is also working on psoriasis and other inflammatory skin diseases such as lupus erythematosus. In particular, the importance of antimicrobial peptides in the cutaneous immune response and the pathogenesis of these inflammatory diseases of the skin. Gabriel Gontijo Gabriel Gontijo has more than 30 years of experience in Dermatology. He was a pioneer in the use of laser in Dermatology in Brazil, concentrating his work in the areas of Dermatological Surgery, Mohs Micrographic Surgery, Photodynamic Therapy and Dermatology Laser. He graduated from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Minas Gerais in 1981 and then began his residency in Dermatology at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Medical School of the University of São Paulo (USP). In 1985 he completed the specialization in Dermatologic Surgery, also by the Hospital das Clínicas of USP. In 1990, he graduated in Dermatology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). In 1994, he completed his specialization in Mohs Microbiology Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In 1995, he joined the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), where he works as a professor of Dermatology. He is also preceptor of Dermatologic Surgery at the Hospital das Clínicas of UFMG. John Harris John Harris is a board-certified dermatologist and tenure-track physician-scientist who conducts NIH-funded research in vitiligo. His career goal is to reveal the mechanisms of autoimmunity in vitiligo, develop new treatments using animal models, and translate these treatments to human patients. He works to seamlessly integrate basic/preclinical, translational, and clinical research strategies to accomplish these goals. Dr Harris received his MD/PhD degree from UMass Medical School in Worcester, MA, and completed a combined dermatology residency and postdoctoral fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. His work has garnered national and international attention, leading to significant interest in developing targeted immunotherapies for vitiligo. He serves on the advisory boards for multiple foundations dedicated to supporting patients with autoimmune skin diseases, including vitiligo and alopecia areata. Dr Harris is the founding director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass. In addition to seeing vitiligo patients in the clinic, Dr Harris also directs the research part of the Center, mentoring multiple postdoctoral fellows, graduate and MD/PhD students, medical students, and undergraduate fellows in his laboratory. Alan Irvine Alan graduated in Medicine from Queen’s University Belfast in 1991. He completed Dermatology Training in Belfast in July 1999, followed by fellowships in Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hospital Chicago, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He was appointed Attending Dermatologist in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital and St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland in October 2002. He is a Professor in Dermatology, Trinity College Dublin. His research interests are in epithelial genetics, disease mechanisms in, and therapy of atopic dermatitis. His work on the genetics of atopic dermatitis with long-term collaborative partner Irwin McLean has helped refocus attention on the role of the skin barrier in the pathogenesis of this disease and of allergic disease in general. He is funded by the National Children’s Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust amongst others and has attracted approximately €12M research funding. Amagai Masayuki Masayuki Amagai's clinical and research interests centre on autoimmune and allergic skin diseases, skin barrier, and skin immunology. Specifically, he has been studying the pathophysiological mechanisms of pemphigus, the skin barrier and the homeostasis of stratum corneum and tight junctions, the impact of impaired skin barrier on skin microbiota and the onset of atopic dermatitis and other allergic disorders. Caroline Robert Caroline Robert is the Head of the Dermatology Service at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus and co-director of the Melanoma Research Unit at INSERM 981 Paris-Sud University. She trained at the Paris V University, France and completed a research fellowship at Harvard, Brigham & Women’s hospital in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy. She chairs the Melanoma group of the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and is board member for the European Association of Onco-Dermatology (EADO), the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), the European Association of Dermato-Venereology (EADV) the French society of Dermatology and Venereology (SFD), the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) and the American Association of Clinical Research (AACR). Her main focuses of interest are clinical and translational Research on Melanoma: immunotherapy and targeted therapy, as well as the study of the cutaneous adverse events of anticancer agents. She is national and international coordinator of many clinical trials of targeted therapy and immunotherapy for melanoma patients, from phase I to III. Her recent work has focused on identification of new biomarkers for immunotherapy and targeted therapies of patients with melanoma. Susan Weinkle Susan Weinkle is board-certified in dermatology. She is a fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery and a diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology. Dr Weinkle graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida in 1974 and completed her residency in dermatology at Stanford University Medical Center in 1982, where she held the position of Chief Resident. During her residency, Dr Weinkle trained with Frederick Mohs, MD in Madison, Wisconsin. She has been in solo private practice since 1984, specializing in Mohs surgery and cosmetic dermatology. She has held academic appointments at Stanford University Hospital, the University of California Irvine Medical Center and the University of South Florida. Dr Weinkle is passionate about all aspects of dermatology: mentoring, scientific innovation, and building enduring relationships within the dermatology community. She has participated in many clinical trials involving toxins, fillers, and other devices, and has published numerous articles on skin carcinoma, surgical techniques and cosmetic therapies.