2023 Annual SBDRC Research Symposium and Trainee Retreat

The Penn Skin Biology and Disease Resource-based Center (SBDRC) held its annual Scientific Symposium and Trainee Retreat on Thursday, March 9, 2023. Highlighting the research accomplishments of its skin investigators and trainees, the symposium featured talks by T32 Fellows and SBDRC Pilot & Feasibility Grant awardees. This year, the symposium showcased a variety of skin-related topics, from basic research to clinical studies and health disparities in dermatology.

This year’s keynote speaker was Suephy Chen, MD, MS, an internationally recognized dermatologist and health services and outcomes researcher. Dr. Chen has served as the Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Duke University School of Medicine since 2021 and recently received the Naomi M. Kanof Clinical Investigator Award from the Society of Investigative Dermatology. During the keynote, Dr. Chen discussed the importance of studying patient adherence to dermatologist-recommended therapies, improving access to health services through teledermatology, and the significance of quality of life for dermatological conditions.

PASH (Penn Academy for Skin Health) alums were welcomed back to present during the poster session and they participated in a roundtable session to discuss their interest in pursuing a career in science and research. The day also included a trainee retreat session on effective communication, and culminated with a social event to promote networking and collaboration.  The Penn SBRDC’s annual event provided a platform for skin investigators of all levels to share their exciting projects and advance skin biology and disease research.

Written by Jesica Jojo