Bilderberg Kasteel, Vaalsbroek, the Netherlands, October 22th – 25th, 2008

http://www.iuf.uni-duesseldorf.de/dermatotox2008/

During the last years, the significance of the immune system and xenobiotic metabolism for the pathogenesis of skin diseases has become obvious. Examples for such disorders are skin tumors, atopic diseases, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis as well as extrinsic skin aging. Therefore, there is an increasing need for interdisciplinary translational research connecting the fields of dermatology, environmental research and toxicology. This meeting is aiming to provide a platform for translational exchange within these disciplines.

We have invited the leading scientists in the areas of experimental dermatology, dermatotoxicology and dermatoimmunology to exchange the newest findings, discover new target structures and discuss novel therapeutic or preventive strategies for extrinsically-induced skin pathologies.

The main topics of the meeting include:

Cutaneous CYP and drug transporters
AhR signalling in skin
Drug induced allergic and autoimmune reactions
Contact dermatitis
Alternative methods in dermatotoxicology
Photoprotection
Risk of nanomaterials to skin
Chemoprevention of skin cancer

Plenary lectures will be held on the subjects:

Role of TLR in interactions between skin and environment
Skin carcinogenesis
Transgenes in xenobiotica metabolism research
Chrono-Biology of the skin
Alternatives in cutaneous immunotoxicology
Fishing for hidden contact allergens

The changes noted above are not unique to journal clubs in training programs. Rather, they are reflected even in the evolution of the contents of the Journal, because its scientific base has become increasingly complex. To keep the whole of dermatological science relevant, there has been growing emphasis on educating all readers and on the integration of dermatological science into a more coherent whole through Editorials, Commentaries, and Perspectives. The idea has been to place the diverse elements of contemporary research into appropriate perspective, for residency training programs as well as for all other readers of the Journal.

Another trend established over the past decade has been to publish a greater number of science-based clinical studies in the Journal, including investigator-initiated clinical trials as well as epidemiologic studies, which not only are more accessible to the general readership but also show more direct relevance to clinical practice. Importantly, the inferences made in such articles are still grounded in the best science.

Our next step in the process of making scientific achievement both useful and relevant to those in training is to provide guidance about how selected papers might be employed. To that end, one of us (RSK) will identify one or more papers each month to serve as “journal club papers.” For each, a series of “thought questions” will be constructed and, utilizing contributions from trainees at the University of Miami Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, brief answers will be included. Our plan, at least at the beginning, is to emphasize clinical science, but in time we may choose to include more basic studies, although we will focus on those with clinical implications. The first month’s Journal Club paper has been identified, and the questions are presented in this issue. Brief answers are available on the JID website. It is hoped that this newly developed Journal of Investigative Dermatology/University of Miami “Journal Club” will facilitate use of the Journal in resident education.

We have several goals in mind: (i) to introduce trainees to excellent studies, (ii) to provide a mechanism for the (re)introduction of the Journal into the educational activities of many training programs, (iii) to enliven journal club discussions, and (iv) to introduce trainees to our Table of Contents, where they may find the titles of other relevant papers as well as Editorials, Commentaries, and Perspectives.

As is always the case, we would be delighted to receive comments about this new feature from any of our readers.

Paul R. Bergstresser
Editor

Robert S. Kirsner
Associate Editor

Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2007) 127, 2067. doi:10.1038/sj.jid.5701039