Experts Look Forward to the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting

The 2024 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting kicks off tomorrow morning in San Diego, California.

Ahead of the jam-packed conference, Dermatology Times has rounded up what experts in dermatology are most looking forward to.

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Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, FAAD

Clinical Associate Professor, Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School

Founder and Director, Center for Medical Dermatology and Immunology Research, Chicago, Illinois

Every year, AAD gets more exciting and busier for all of us. And I think that this year is no exception. My favorite part of the meeting this year, beyond all the cool stuff that I get to participate in and help educate my colleagues on, is the fact that we just have even more therapies coming for immunologic and inflammatory disease, a space which I love thinking about from a research, clinical, and educational standpoint. And just to even think, a few years ago, how sparse some of these sessions might have seemed, versus now where you can't even fit people in the room to talk about a lot of these new therapies, and the fact that we're no longer just talking about topical steroids over and over again, we actually have real targeted therapeutic options. And to me, that's really just the most exciting glimpse into the future for dermatology.

Lawrence Eichenfield, MD, FAAD

Chief of Pediatric and Adolescent Dermatology, Rady Children's Hospital

Vice Chair, Department of Dermatology, UCSD School of Medicine

Professor, Dermatology and Pediatrics, USCD School of Medicine

I think that this is going to be a particularly busy AAD where there's going to be a wealth of materials. What I love about the AAD is that there'll be this mixture of brand new information that's going to be available in late-breaking sessions and in posters. But at the same time, there's lots of sessions that are designed to be integrative. We have people who are in clinical practice taking care of patients, and they're working over the information about what's state of the art management as well as the new stuff for innovations, and putting it in a very practical aspect that we can take home to help us take care of our patients, as well.

Ashley Nicole Elsensohn, MD, MPH, FAAD

Assistant Professor, Dermatology, Pathology and Human Anatomy, Loma Linda University School of Medicine

I'm looking forward to going to all the sessions and learning. But most of the time, you sort of get sidetracked in the hallways by colleagues and old friends and just seeing everybody. I think it's going to be a wonderful environment. We get to learn, we get to see our friends: just the whole thing. It's in San Diego, so kind of a local, Southern California trip. I think it's going to be awesome.

Richard Gallo, MD

Ima Gigli Distinguished Professor of Dermatology, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Chair of the Department of Dermatology, UC San Diego School of Medicine

I love to hear about new therapeutic options and new advances and understanding the cause of diseases. But maybe a little bit more than that, I like meeting old friends and having people from around the world and around the country get together and be able to interact one-on-one and not solely be by Zoom and video interviews.

Sonya Kenkare, MD, FAAD

Board-certified dermatologist, Illinois Derm Institute, Hinsdale

Director of Dermatology, Rush River North

I'm excited to attend the AAD meeting this year in sunny San Diego to collaborate with my colleagues and to learn about all the innovations across the board, from cosmetics to surgery to complex medical dermatology.

Alexandra Kimball, MD

CEO and President, Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc.

Professor, Harvard Medical School

I certainly look forward at AAD to seeing my colleagues and my friends. That's always an important part of it. But for me as a clinical trialist who is very interested in immunologic aspects of diseases, the intersection of both the what we're learning from a scientific standpoint and what we're learning from the clinic that informs the science is the most interesting.

Peter Lio, MD, FAAD

Clinical Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology & Pediatrics, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine

Founding Director, Chicago Integrative Eczema Center

I'm very excited about the American Academy of Dermatology meeting. As always, it is an extravaganza. There are so many great sessions with great people, so many awesome meetings, connections. I am in store for a whirlwind, as usual, of meeting lots of folks and doing lots of great things. So it's going to be fun.

Elizabeth (Lisa) Swanson, MD, FAAD

Dermatologist and Pediatric Dermatologist, Ada West Dermatology, St. Luke's Children's Hospital

I love going to the AAD, because nowhere else do you get such a breadth in the topics that you can explore. Of course, as a pediatric dermatologist, I'm going to highlight the peds derm sessions, because those are my people. That's my thing. But also looking at the list of things on the itinerary, t's like, how do I choose? There are 3 talks I would like to go to at this time on this day: How do I prioritize where I go? Of course, it's always nice to see everybody there, too, because everybody goes to AAD; everybody's doing it. And I love San Diego in March. That sounds wonderful.