Photos courtesy of Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin
The 2024 Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin (Montagna) theme was Skin of Color Dermatology: The Interaction of Science & Society. This year’s symposium took place October 17-21 at the beautiful Skamania Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, USA.
The Skin of Color Society (SOCS) was well represented in the sessions presented. Below are the sessions presented by SOCS members.
Crystal Aguh, MD (Johns Hopkins University) talked about the role of metabolic dysregulation in the pathogenesis of CCCA.
Ginette Okoye, MD (Howard University) presented on the cutting edge of science in diseases that impact patients with SOC.
Angel Byrd MD, PhD (Howard University) presented information on social determinants of health interests with Hidradenitis Suppurativa immunobiology.
Carmelo Carmona-Rivera, PhD (NIH) presented Immune dysregulation of HS
Olivia Choi, MD, PhD, FAAD (Johnson and Johnson) presented VISIBLE: Guselkumab (GUS) skin and scalp clearance in skin of color (SOC) participants (pts) by baseline (BL) inflammatory disease burden
Donald Glass, MD, PhD (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center) explored keloid research including germline genetics, genome wide association studies (GWAS), epigenetics, immunobiology and wound-healing, the role of the microenvironment, and presented information about the work and mission of SOCS.
John E. Harris, MD, PhD (University of Massachusetts) presented a lecture on Translational research in vitiligo: Launching a new era of targeted treatments
Courtney M. Johnson, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins University) presented scRNA-Seq Reveals Differential Gene Expression of Cancer-Associated Fibroblast Markers in Mycosis Fungoides Patients of Color
Shawn G. Kwatra, MD (University of Maryland) presented on inflammatory itch and the skin barrier in SOCs and Genetic and immunologic features of prurigo nodularis in African Americans
Tina Lasisi, PhD (University of Michigan) presented a Keynote talk on Pigmentation and Perception: Evolutionary Biology, Human Variation, and the Social Dimensions of Skin Color and a lecture on Genetics and hair texture: Evolution of hair diversity
Haley Naik, MD (University of California, San Francisco) presented The Reasons Why: A Focus on the Landscape of HS
Jillian Richard, PhD (University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School) presented the Spatial transcriptomics and proteomics of Mycosis Fungoides biopsies from Skin of Color patients reveals novel biomarkers and potential treatment targets
Dorothy Supp, PhD (University of Cincinnati) presented The function of vitamin D in keloid biology
Junko Takeshita, MD, PhD, MSCE (University of Pennsylvania) presented Health disparities research in inflammatory skin diseases: what are the roles of race, ethnicity, and social and environmental factors?
In partnership with Pfizer, we were pleased to sponsor a dinner during the weekend, during which SOCS Past President Dr. Donald Glass spoke about the SOCS mission and vision, and how attendees can play a vital role in advancing dermatologic care for diverse communities through involvement in the Society.
Learn more about the Montagna Symposium.
