Congratulations to our 2023 Johnson-Beerman and Stelwagon Competition Awardees!
Penn Dermatology congratulates the winners and honorees of the annual Johnson-Beerman and Stelwagon Awards
Each Spring the Philadelphia Dermatological Society (Philly Derm) and the Section of Dermatology of the College of Physicians sponsor two dermatology research competitions: the Johnson-Beerman Award in Basic Science Dermatology Research and the Stelwagon Award in Clinical Dermatology Research. The competitions are open to dermatology residents, pre- and post-doctoral fellows, and graduate & medical students completing research at an institution in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area that participates in the activities of the Section of Dermatology of the College of Physicians. Trainees submit recent works, either a basic science research paper or clinically oriented study, to the Research & Clinical Awards Committees for review.
On May 2, 2023, an awards ceremony was held at The Philadelphia College of Physicians to honor all award recipients. In addition, the first and second prize-winners gave research talks. Penn Derm was well-represented at this year’s ceremony, with seven Penn Derm trainees being recognized for their research.
On the basic science side, PhD candidates from the Dr. Elizabeth Grice’s Lab took the top to prizes in the Johnson-Beerman competition. Jordan Harris was awarded first prize for his paper titled “The microbiota and immune system non-genetically affect offspring phenotypes transgenerationally” and second place went to Monica Wei for her work “Harnessing diversity and antagonism within the pig skin microbiota to identify novel mediators of colonization resistance to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.”
Penn Dermatology’s clinical research achievements were also acknowledged in the Stelwagon competition. Megan Zhao, a third-year medical student at Perelman School of Medicine conducting research in Dr. Victoria Werth’s Lab, received first prize for “A state of current management of the heightened risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular events in an established cohort of patients with lupus erythematosus.” Additionally, Rachita Pandya, Julianne Kleitsch, Dr. Juliana Berk-Krauss, and Dr. Jenny Wei all received honorable mentions for their clinical research endeavors.
These awards serve as a critical acknowledgement for our trainees who will pursue a career in dermatological research. Congratulations to all our 2023 awardees!
