Penn Dermatology congratulates the 2024 Johnson-Beerman and Stelwagon Awardees!

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 April 5, 2024, an awards ceremony was held at in Mitchell Hall of The 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 six Penn Derm trainees being recognized for their research.

On the basic science side, Satish Sati, PhD took the top to prize in the Johnson-Beerman competition. Dr. Sati was awarded first prize for his work titled “Specific recruitment of type 1 innate lymphoid cells to mature tertiary lymphoid structures in human sarcoidosis”, second place went to Thomas Vasquez, MD for his work “Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are not major producers of type 1 interferon in cutaneous lupus: An in depth immunoprofile of subacute and discoid lupus”, and third place was awarded to Leo Wang, MD, PhD for “Local and sustained baricitinib delivery to the skin through injectable hydrogels containing reversible thioimidate adducts”.

Penn Dermatology’s clinical research achievements were also acknowledged in the Stelwagon competition. Dylan Haynes, MD, a second-year resident, received first prize for “Re-evaluating Tumor Staging in Merkel Cell Carcinoma Using the SEER Database”; Caroline J. Stone, BA, a research fellow under Dr. Victoria Werth, was awarded second prize for “Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Lenabasum, a Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 Agonist, in Patients with Dermatomyositis with Refractory Skin Disease: Follow-up Data from a Three-year Open-Label Extension Study”; and Savannah Alvarado, MD, a third-year internal medicine-dermatology resident, received third prize for “Utility of skin biopsy in diagnosis and prognosis of chronic graft-versus-host disease”.

These awards serve as a critical acknowledgement for our trainees who will pursue a career in dermatological research. Congratulations to all our 2024 awardees!