Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD is a world-renowned dermatologist whose study of molecular and cellular pathomechanisms of inflammatory skin diseases, and particularly eczema/atopic dermatitis (AD) and recently also alopecia areata in humans is opening the doors to new therapeutic discoveries and new treatments for patients. She serves as Vice Chair of Research in the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, Professor in the Departments of Dermatology and Immunology, Director of the Center for Excellence in Eczema, and Director of the Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  Dr. Guttman-Yassky has developed comprehensive molecular maps of AD, defining skin differentiation and immune-circuits characterizing this disease and biomarkers of treatment response. She has recently also extended her research interest to alopecia areata, and other inflammatory skin diseases, where she is also translating her findings to possible novel therapeutic targets. Dr. Guttman has two board certifications in dermatology (from Israel and the US).   In 2014, Dr. Guttman-Yassky co-founded the International Eczema Council, an organization that includes more than 100 of the world’s leaders in eczema, and currently serves as its president. She is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the American Dermatological Society. Dr. Guttman received many national and international awards for scientific innovation. Dr. Guttman co-authored more than 200 articles in high impact journals, including NEJM, Nature Immunology, J Allergy Clin Immunol and many others. 

Dr. Simpson practices medical dermatology with special interests in chronic inflammatory skin diseases and skin cancer. He is actively involved in clinical research and is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and industry partners to study new approaches to chronic skin disease treatment and prevention.  Dr. Simpson's collaborations are global in scope and has been invited to present his research and approach to patient care at international conferences in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. He has published over 170 scientific articles in several high-impact peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.   Dr. Simpson supports patient advocacy by serving on the Executive Committee of the Harmonizing Outcome Measures in Eczema (HOME)--a volunteer group of patients, providers, and other stakeholders whose mission is to improve the quality of eczema research to better suit the needs of patients and policy-makers.  He also served as Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee for the National Eczema Association from 2014-2017.    Outside of work, Dr. Simpson enjoys spending time with his wife and children, playing squash, camping, hiking, fishing, and biking.

Fiona Kuo currently works as a Clinical Science Director in the Inflammation and Autoimmunity Group at Incyte Corporation.  Dr. Kuo received her PhD in Pathology from the University of Rochester with a focus on understanding the mechanisms underlying inflammatory skin diseases.   While at the University of Rochester, Fiona transitioned from basic to clinical science and supported clinical trials within the Department of Dermatology.  Dr. Kuo has held positions of increasing responsibility at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Biogen Idec, and Akebia Therapeutics prior to joining Incyte.  Throughout her career, Dr. Kuo has been committed to advancing our understanding of human disease and therapies for patients with unmet needs.

James V. Cassella, Ph.D., is a biopharmaceutical R&D executive with over 30 years of experience working in science-driven drug discovery and product development companies. Since February 2015, he has been the Chief Development Officer of Concert Pharmaceuticals, heading up the Company’s drug development efforts, including strategy and operations, with direct responsibility for the CMC, preclinical, clinical, and regulatory functions. Prior to joining Concert, Dr. Cassella served as the Chief Scientific Officer and EVP of R&D at Alexza Pharmaceuticals, a drug-device product development company. Previously, Dr. Cassella was one of the original scientists at Neurogen Corporation, a CNS drug discovery and development biotechnology company, and held various management positions, including Senior Vice President of Clinical R&D. Prior to joining the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Cassella was an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Oberlin College. Dr. Cassella received a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Jasmina Jankicevic is known for her engaging style of leading workshops that are packed with relevant content and crisp-clear takeaways. This interactive session will enable you to strategically stimulate innovation in your organization, to optimize your pipeline, and to maximize the value of your development programs. 

Jennifer Good is Trevi’s co-founder and President and Chief Executive Officer and has served as a member of our board of directors and as since our inception in March 2011. Previously, Ms. Good served at Penwest Pharmaceuticals, where she held various positions including President and Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Good currently serves on the board of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded rare disease company, and chairs their Compensation Committee. Ms. Good previously served on the board of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded healthcare company, from September 2017 until it was acquired in August 2018. Ms. Good also serves as a board member of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance (FARA), a patient advocacy group advancing treatments for the treatment and cure of Friedreich’s Ataxia.  

John M. Armstrong is the Head of Discovery for the Prescription GBU at Galderma, which is based in Switzerland.  His education includes a PhD in Immunology and post-doctoral training in personalized medicine at Sandoz Pharmaceutical Company in Basel, Switzerland, and immune cell signal transduction pathway crosstalk at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to working in Medical Affairs at Bayer and J&J, Dr. Armstrong co-founded and ran Lead Horse Technologies, Inc., a personalized medicine company from 2006 to 2012, where he led a team of scientists, physicians, and software developers to create an AI-based, big data analytics platform to quantify the risk of adverse event development in patients with diverse medical profiles.  As Head of Discovery in Galderma’s prescription business, Dr. Armstrong’s role is to oversee the teams and talents from both Research and Business Development. This new single entity has the purpose of exploring, discovering, and developing internal innovation, as well as exploring, forming, and managing alliances that bring external innovation into Galderma’s prescription pipeline and product portfolio.    

Dr. Harris is the Vice Chair of Dermatology and Director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a dermatologist and physician-scientist, seeing patients in a vitiligo specialty clinic and running a large research laboratory focused on understanding what causes the disease and developing new treatments. His group integrates basic, translational, and clinical research strategies to accomplish this. As a result, early clinical trials in vitiligo look promising, and more are being developed. Finally, Dr. Harris founded Villaris Therapeutics, whose entire focus is to develop an effective, long-lasting treatment for vitiligo. 

Dr. Kirby is a dermatologist and clinician-researcher at Penn State Hershey. She earned her Medical degree from the University of Virginia, then completed her Dermatology Residency at the University of Pennsylvania. In her clinical and research work, she is interested in acneiform conditions including acne, rosacea, and, especially, hidradenitis suppurativa – its effects on people, outcome measurement, and pathomechanisms. She is the PI of a number of clinical research trials. All of this is made possible by the support of her husband and daughters.  

Julie Block, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Eczema Association since 2010, has dedicated her career to the non-profit sector, and for the past several years, to patient-health advocacy. Julie’s extensive non-profit management, strategy and development experience stems from leadership positions in education, medical technology, human potential movement, and the arts. At Harvard Medical School, she directed a variety of programs and new initiatives, including the launch of a new AIDS research center in the 1980’s. Throughout her career, she has continued her involvement with causes she is passionate about as a volunteer including the American Cancer Society Relay for Life and Very Special Arts for children with special needs. Julie holds a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from SDSU, receiving her education at University of California at Santa Barbara, San Diego State University (SDSU) and Harvard University.

Dr. Lu specializes in autoimmune inflammatory skin disorders and connective tissue disease. She directs multispecialty rheumatology and dermatology clinic at University of Connecticut, focusing on clinical care and research on connective tissue disease including lupus, dermatomyositis, Sjogren’s and scleroderma. She also directed Clinical Research & Clinical Trial Unit of Uconn Dermatology Department. She has been principle investigator for multiple clinical trials and studies on psoriasis, eczema, and dermatomyositis.    

Kendall Marcus is the Director of the Division of Dermatology and Dental Products at FDA and a board-certified specialist in Infectious Diseases. Dr. Marcus first joined the FDA as a Medical Officer in the Division of Antiviral Products (DAVP) in 2000. She served in DAVP as a Medical Team Leader from 2003-2009 and then as the Deputy Director of Safety from 2009-2014 before joining DDDP as Director in 2014. She received a B.S. from University of Maryland at College Park and an M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine.   

Dr. Kircik is a Board Certified Dermatologist who graduated with AOA Honors from State University of New York at the Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn after completing his undergraduate work with Phi Beta Kappa at New York University. He completed a Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology Fellowship under the auspices of Dr. Frederick Mohs at the University of Wisconsin after completing his dermatology residency at State University of New York in Buffalo. He currently teaches as Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, IN, as well as Clinical Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Kircik is also the Medical Director of DermResearch, PLLC, Physicians Skin Care, PLLC and Skin Sciences, PLLC in Louisville, Kentucky. He has been the principal investigator of numerous clinical trials for psoriasis, acne, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, skin cancers, and actinic keratosis, just to name a few. Dr. Kircik is an author of many scientific articles, abstracts and posters. He has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on all aspects of dermatologic conditions. In addition, he also serves on the advisory boards of several pharmaceutical companies as a consultant. He is on the editorial board of Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, Practical Dermatology, The Journal of Clinical & Aesthetic Dermatology, and Case Report in Clinical Pathology. He volunteers for multiple local and national medical society committees.

Lotus Mallbris, M.D., Ph.D., is the Vice President and Global Head of Immunology Product Development at Eli Lilly and Company. She is a passionate executive leader who brings a unique perspective to the industry as she began her career as a trained physician and has diverse experience across the spectrums of patient care, academic research, pharmaceutical drug development and global medical affairs. Through her business mantra “Performance with Care,” Dr. Mallbris has developed a leadership style that cultivates a thriving environment for her colleagues and teams at Lilly.    Dr. Mallbris joined Lilly in 2015 and leads the company’s multifunctional Global Clinical Development and Global Medical Affairs teams across the dermatology, rheumatology and gastroenterology fields. Before joining Lilly, she spent several years at Pfizer and held leadership positions within the dermatology business, serving as the Regional Medical Dermatology Lead and the Global Medical Dermatology Lead.   Prior to joining the corporate world, Dr. Mallbris was a practicing physician for more than 10 years, starting her career as a surgeon before transitioning to the field of dermatology. Her decision to shift from academia and being a practicing dermatologist to joining a biopharmaceutical company was rooted in her desire to help more patients and bring them the treatments they need. Dr. Mallbris has always been devoted to patients and found caring for them incredibly rewarding, but recognized an opportunity to take that devotion to the next level by joining the companies working to create the innovative solutions needed to help patients around the world.   Born in Iran, Dr. Mallbris received her medical degree from Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden and earned a Ph.D. and a Post-Doctorate Diploma from the Department of Medicine at Karolinska Institute, Sweden. She continues to be an active member of multiple external immunology research advisory boards that focus on public health and epidemiology, bridging the external state-of-the-art research with Lilly.   Dr. Mallbris lives with her husband and two daughters in Indianapolis.    

Dr. Lourdes Perez-Chada completed medical school at Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires, Argentina and trained in dermatology at the Universidad de Buenos Aires, where she practiced as a dermatologist with expertise in phototherapy and psoriatic disease management. In 2018, she received her Masters of Medical Sciences in Clinical Investigation from Harvard Medical School. She currently works as the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinical Research Fellow at the Department of Dermatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital under the mentorship of Dr. Joseph Merola, and as the Outcome Measures Research Fellow for the International Dermatology Outcome Measures (IDEOM) group.  Her current research focuses on (i) understanding the relationship between sleep disturbance and chronic inflammatory dermatoses (ii) advancing the assessment of chronic inflammatory dermatoses by developing and identifying psychometrically-sound outcome measures; (iii) raising awareness and facilitating the detection of psoriatic disease comorbidities. She is recent associate editor of the Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis. She is also actively involved with the Masters of Medical Sciences in Clinical Investigation from Harvard Medical School, where she forms part of the Admissions Committee, and teaches on the development of core outcomes sets, psychometrics and outcome measures development.    

Mark Feitelson received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 1979 from the UCLA School of Medicine. He was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University from 1980-82 and was then recruited to the Fox Chase Cancer Center by Dr. Baruch Blumberg (Nobel laureate). In 1991, Dr. Feitelson became Associate Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology and head of the Molecular Diagnostics Lab in Microbiology at Thomas Jefferson University. In 2007, Dr. Feitelson moved to Temple University, where he is now Professor of Biology.  His research has been supported by NIH, industry, and foundations for more than 35 years, has more than 150 publications and is presently head of the Professional Science Master’s program in Biotechnology at Temple University. Since 1980, his research interests have encompassed the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B infection and development of hepatocellular carcinoma on the cell and molecular levels.  More recently, he co-founded the biotechnology start-up, SFA Therapeutics, which is developing anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor drugs from the gut microbiome. 

Mary Spellman, MD, FAAD, is the Chief Medical Officer for Castle Creek Biosciences, Inc., also leading the research and development and regulatory affairs groups. Dr. Spellman has more than 30 years of clinical research experience, including in academic practice at the University of California, San Diego, and in research and development positions in biopharmaceutical corporations. She has led the clinical teams through successful submissions of INDs and marketing approvals for small molecule and biologic products. Dr. Spellman is a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. 

Michael Wachs is a professor of surgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Surgical Director of Liver/Kidney Transplant at The Children’s Hospital Colorado. He co-founded Attillaps Pharmaceuticals using his scientific expertise in immunological sciences to help push a paradigm-shifting approach to treating inflammatory conditions.  Dr. Wachs graduated with an AB from Harvard University in Physical Anthropology and he attained his MD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He was Chief resident at the University Health Center of Pittsburgh and performed his Transplantation Fellowship at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. 

Dr. Misha Rosenbach is an Associate Professor of Dermatology and Internal Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  He is the co-director of the inpatient consult service, and serves a variety of educational roles including Vice Chair of Education, program director of the dermatology residency, and core clinical faculty in the department of medicine.  Dr. Rosenbach’s clinical practice is focused on complex medical dermatology, where he runs a sarcoidosis clinic, urgent access clinic, and sees inpatients and outpatients with hematologic malignancies and cutaneous complications, autoimmune skin conditions, or patients with undiagnosed diseases; his research is focused primarily on sarcoidosis and granulomatous skin conditions.   He has published more than 150 peer reviewed articles, multiple chapters, and textbooks including serving as one of the editors of Andrew’s Diseases of the Skin.  He is the former deputy editor of JAMA Dermatology and remains on its editorial board. He is the President-Elect of the Medical Dermatology Society, and has leadership roles in the Society of Dermatology Hospitalists and in the American Academy of Dermatology.   

Peter Lio, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology & Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Lio received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, completed his internship in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, and his Dermatology training at Harvard where he served as Chief Resident in Dermatology. While at Harvard, he received formal training in acupuncture. Dr. Lio is the founding director of the Chicago Integrative Eczema Center and a founding partner of Medical Dermatology Associates of Chicago. He currently serves as a board member and scientific advisory committee member for the National Eczema Association. He is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Atopic Dermatitis Expert Resource Group and a founding faculty member of the Integrative Dermatology Certificate Program. He has over 150 publications and 2 textbooks.    

Dr. Diaz is cofounder/CEO of DermaXon and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry in the Department of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Montana. He received his PhD from the University of Aix-Marseille (France) and an engineering degree from the ENSSPICAM (now Ecole Centrale de Marseille). He is an author and an inventor of more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and patents. He started his career at Galderma R&D where he held senior leadership roles in the in the drug discovery department. He was senior scientist at Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston where he became interested by the complexity of cannabinoid pharmacology and the design of small molecules to treat pain and pruritus. At MD Anderson, he coinvented a small molecule which entered in Phase I clinical trials for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. His company DermaXon targets the brain-skin connection to discover and develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat life-threatening diseases and disorders such as pain, pruritus, and genetic disorders of skin keratinization. Dr Diaz and his team uses medicinal chemistry, molecular biology, artificial intelligence, and next-generation sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology to design small molecules modulating multiple targets or inhibiting the degradation of endogenous molecules exhibiting polypharmacology.   

Rasmus Hogreffe joined the Leo Innovation Lab in January 2019 and is currently the Team Manager of the Virtual Clinical Trial project, with the main goal of improving treatment for patients, by making trials better and faster than ever before, using digital and remote innovations. He holds a Master in Medical Science (MSc. Medicine) from Aalborg University, Denmark and has, since 2010, been working in the healthcare industry in various positions within clinical research & development. Rasmus has extensive experience in the pharmaceuticals industry both within marketing, medical market access, HEOR, project management, sites-optimization, and study-start up. Rasmus has been involved in more than 40 clinical trials, giving him a broad knowledge regarding every aspect of clinical research. 

Michael Howell currently works as the Senior Director of Translational Research at the Incyte Corporation with a focus on immunological and inflammatory diseases.  Dr. Howell received his PhD in Immunology from West Virginia University School of Medicine and completed his post-doctoral training at National Jewish Health.  While at National Jewish, Michael transitioned to the faculty and served as a Co-Investigator for the Atopic Dermatitis Vaccinia Network.  Since transitioning to industry, Dr. Howell has held positions at Boehringer Ingelheim, the Immune Tolerance Network, and MedImmune/AstraZeneca.  Throughout his career, Dr. Howell has combined clinical, translational, and basic science approaches to identify personalized medicine approaches to treat inflammatory and immunological diseases.  This has been highlighted in national and international meetings, publications, and patents for therapeutic interventions and biomarker strategies. 

Sylvie Gabriel is the Head of Global Market Access and Health Economics & Outcome Research at Galderma. She is a medical doctor specialized in Pediatrics and Radiology (Descartes University, Paris). She is also a MBA graduate (ESSEC) and a health economist (Stockholm School of Economics).She started her career working in Public Health, mainly in epidemiology.   Then she acted in successive positions over 20 years at Sanofi, in Portfolio Management, International Clinical Development, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Public Affairs, Market Access & Pricing. Then she joined Ipsen Pharma, a French Biotech company as Senior Vice President, Global Market Access & Pricing.   In her role at Galderma, she is in charge of developing the global strategies for Pricing and Reimbursement across the portfolio as well as building the global and local Market Access capabilities. 

Dr. Victoria Werth is a Professor of Dermatology and Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Chief of the Division of Dermatology at the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Hospital. Dr. Werth earned her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed a residency in internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, and dermatology residency and immunodermatology fellowship at New York University School of Medicine in New York, funded by the NIH and Dermatology Foundation. She joined the faculty at Penn in 1989 and has developed an internationally recognized program in autoimmune skin diseases.    She is a co-founder of the Rheumatologic Dermatology Society and previous president of the group. She is co-founder of the Medical Dermatology Society, and a recipient of their lifetime achievement award. She initiated the combined internal medicine/dermatology residency program in the U.S., which has successfully trained prominent leaders in complex medical dermatology. She has a longstanding interest in clinical and translational research pertaining to autoimmune skin diseases, including cutaneous lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and autoimmune blistering diseases, with a focus on improving the outcomes of autoimmune dermatologic diseases. She has developed and validated disease severity tools now used in many international trials for these diseases, with a goal to advancing evidence for current and new therapeutics. Her laboratory studies include studies in cutaneous lupus and dermatomyositis that relate to pathogenesis and heterogeneity of response to treatment, and ultraviolet light effects on skin. Recent clinical studies have examined mechanistic effects of therapeutics in CLE, as well as subset-specific expression of cytokine signatures. Her work has been funded by the Dermatology Foundation, NIH, DOD, the Veterans Administration, the Lupus Research Alliance, the Lupus Foundation of America, the Myositis Association, the International Pemphigus and Pemphigoid Foundation, CARRA, and industry.  

Dr. Alan Menter was born in England and is a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. He completed his dermatology residency at Pretoria General Hospital at the University of Pretoria, also in South Africa, and two fellowships in London at Guy's Hospital and St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin. A fellowship with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas brought Menter to the United States in 1975. Since then, he has held several positions within the UT and Baylor University Dallas systems. In 1992, he was appointed chairman of the Division of Dermatology at Baylor University Medical Center and still holds that position. In 2007, he was appointed director of the Baylor Research Center and in 2010, Program Director of the newly formed Dermatology Residency Program at Baylor University Medical Center. Committed to patients Dr. Menter has a long-held interest in psoriasis and psoriatic disease research. In 1994, he co-authored the first gene discovery for psoriasis, published in Science in 1994. His research on psoriasis has examined everything from ultraviolet phototherapy, new biologic therapy to the mapping of genetic patterns to predict if a person is at risk of developing psoriasis pharmacogenomics. In August 2004, Dr. Menter helped found the International Psoriasis Council to raise international awareness of psoriasis as a serious autoimmune disease that can significantly impact quality of life. His clinical practice includes more than 1,800 patients on systemic and biologic therapy. Dedicated to research Dr. Menter held the position of clinical director of the National Psoriasis Foundation Gene Bank from 1996 to 2002. His resume lists some 385+ articles, 6 books and 21 book chapters. He serves as a member of the editorial board for several medical journals, including the Journal of Clinical Dermatology and Clinical and Experimental Dermatology. He is Dermatology Chair at Baylor Scott & White, Dallas and Program Director our Dermatology Residency Program as well as clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and professor at Texas A&M Health Science Center, College of Medicine. Other accomplishments Dr. Menter has been listed in the Best Doctors in America since 1994 and Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare since 1996. He also represented the South African National Rugby team, the Springboks, in 1968. In 2013, Dr. Menter received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Psoriasis Foundation. In March 2015, he received the Dermatology Foundation annual Clark W. Finnerud award at the AAD meeting in San Francisco. Dr. Menter also received the Preseidential Citation March 2016 and 2018 at the AAD meetings.

Brett King is Associate Professor of Dermatology at Yale School of Medicine, specializing in skin diseases recalcitrant to first-line therapies. He has pioneered the use of JAK inhibitors in cutaneous diseases, including alopecia areata, vitiligo, and atopic dermatitis, in addition to other disorders.  Dr. King received his B.A. at the University of California at Santa Cruz, his Ph.D. from Stanford University and his M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed medical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital and dermatology residency and fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine.   

Dr. Kaplan is general medical dermatologist with a strong interest in basic science research.  He runs an 8-12-person NIH funded research team focusing on the cellular immune circuits that drive different types of immunity.  His lab has a particular in understanding how non-hematopoietic cell types such as neurons and keratinocytes control local immune responses. Their goal is to better understand the mechanisms driving immune-mediated skin diseases in an effort to prevent its onset and devise novel therapeutics. Dr. Kaplan received his BS from Yale University, MD/PhD from Washington University in St. Louis, and residency/fellowship training in Dermatology at Yale School of Medicine.    

Title(s): Associate Professor of Medicine, Anesthesiology, and Pathology and Immunology; Co-Director, Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders; Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Nuogen Pharma, Inc.  Current Affiliation(s): Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, Center for the Study of Itch and Sensory Disorders, Department of Anesthesiology, Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine   Social Media: @itchdoctor; https://www.briankimlab.org  Dr. Brian S. Kim’s laboratory focuses on innate immune mechanisms that underlie skin inflammation and the sensation of itch. He identified previously unrecognized contributions of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and basophils to the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD) in both mice and humans. These cells have emerged as critical sources of the type 2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, which are now among the most important targets for biologic therapy in AD and other allergic disorders. More recently, the Kim Lab was the first to identify functionality of IL-4/13 and Janus kinases (JAKs) in sensory neurons as master regulators of chronic itch. These studies have immediate clinical implications as type 2 cytokine and JAK blockade have emerged as some of the most efficacious therapeutics in AD. His research on the immune regulation of AD and itch has led to awards and funding from the NIH, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, American Skin Association, American Academy of Dermatology, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. 

Dr. Ana Rossi is a Brazilian/ French board-certified dermatologist with 30 years’ experience in Dermatology, focused in clinical development and medical affairs. In her current position of Global Senior Medical Director in immunology in Sanofi Genzyme, based in Cambridge, USA, she is the Sanofi Genzyme global medical lead in the alliance’s Publication Committee and the Scientific Review Committee for dupilumab in atopic dermatitis, among other responsibilities.   During her industry career, she contributed to develop new treatments for different skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, photo aging, mycosis. Examples of these products are immunomodulators, retinoids, sunscreens, medical devices for atopic dermatitis and collagen dermo-filler. She developed new methods and scales to evaluate and measure skin conditions such as acne, post inflammatory pigmentation and lips volume, helping dermatologists to better follow up the impact of treatments and providing patients with realistic expectations about their treatments.    Dr Rossi has practiced Dermatology for 25 years, both in Brazil and France. Her latest position in hospital was the head of Cosmetic Dermatology in the Dermatology Department of the University Hospital of Toulouse, France, from 2012 to 2017.  She is a member of many professional organizations including the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the French Society of Dermatology, and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV).  She holds Masters in Internal Medicine (UNICAMP, Brazil), Project Management (George Washington University), Cosmetic Dermatology (Paris V university, France) and Surgical Dermatology (Versailles University, France). She also obtained the certification in Medicines development through the King's College Professional Certification Program in Medical Affairs.  Ana is fluent in English, French and Portuguese, enjoys cooking, dancing and watching movies with her family while eating homemade pizza on Saturday’s evenings.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ana-beatris-rossi/  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ana_Rossi 

Dr. Bola Akinlade is Vice President for Regeneron’s Immunology and Inflammation Therapeutic Area. Upon joining Regeneron in 2015, Dr. Akinlade led the immunology and inflammation clinical development team, playing a pivotal role in the approval of Dupixent® (dupilumab) for atopic dermatitis.   Dr. Akinlade is board-certified in Internal Medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Ibadan and residency training in Internal Medicine at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, both in Nigeria. He completed internal medicine residency at the University of Connecticut, serving also as Chief Resident. He worked as an attending physician for 15 years. He joined Abbott Laboratories in 2003 and Astellas in 2008, where he led drug development teams in anti-infective, immunology, urology and nephrology. Dr. Akinlade is an American College of Physicians fellow and earned his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.

Dr Rizova is a Physician and holds a PhD in Immunology and Diploma in Pharmacoeconomy   She has a 24 years of experience in biopharmaceutical industry mainly in international drug development from early clinical development to launch on a background of clinical medicine & basic science research. This experience stemmed from a broad-based role in several Pharma Companies, in which she developed the capabilities of working and leading multi-disciplinary team integrating Research and Development, Medical Affairs, Clinical operations, Regulatory affairs, Pharmacovigilance etc. Through her career, Elena has hold variety of positions with increasing responsibility in R&D and Medical Affairs in Galderma, Biogen, 3M Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi Genzyme.   During her career, Dr Rizova worked in various regions of the Globe such as Europe, Asia, USA Her main focus was the development of the company Medical Affairs strategy across several therapeutic areas.   While being in Asia, Dr Rizova was heading the Asia Pacific Innovation Center Johnson & Johnson.   Dr Rizova joined Sanofi in 2015 as Head of Global Medical Affairs for Immunology Franchise and still work in this capacity based in Cambridge, MA, US.  

Dirk G. Brockstedt is Senior Vice President of Biology and has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of immunology and oncology originating with his PhD from the University of Kiel and Stanford University. Dirk joined RAPT Therapeutics in January 2018, bringing a wealth of experience in immunology at all stages of discovery, translational and clinical development. He joined RAPT from Aduro Biotech, where he served as Executive Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to Aduro, Dirk held positions of increasing responsibility within the immunology department of Cerus Corporation and at Aventis in the immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis groups. Dr. Brockstedt co-authored over 40 scientific papers and is a named inventor on seven issued patents and several pending applications. 

Benjamin Gavinet joined Seppic in September 2016 and is currently the Market Manager for Dermopharmaceutical Excipients. He completed his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Paul Sabatier University, France, and graduated from an Advanced Master in Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Management (GEM). Previously, Benjamin served at Asept InMed, where he developed his knowledge of the medical device regulations. He and his team focus on bringing value-adding innovative excipients to the topical market, with an in-depth understanding of major formulation issues as well as regulatory requirements for novel excipients.