Rubén A. Ferrer from the Department of Dermatology of the University Leipzig has received one of the 2022 ESDR/SID Collegiality Award. This allowed him to attend the 2022 SID meeting in Portland (OR, USA) and to present his work at the Department of Dermatology of The University of Pennsylvania. Here he reports his experience:
The ESDR and SID meetings have been a source of tremendous inspiration for my career; on these stages one can see the work from true giants of dermatological research who pursue cutting edge science with a focus on translation. As physician scientist this shows me that research of high level can be combined with clinical practice. This Meeting is, together with the ESDR, the highlight of my year since I embarked on a clinician scientist path in Dermatology. I was super thrilled to be able to attend the SID meeting in person after the forced pause and virtual meetings imposed by the Covid19 pandemic. And I was even more thrilled to have the opportunity to obtain the 2022 ESDR/SID Collegiality Award which not only allowed me to come to the SID meeting, but also to visit the Laboratory of Prof. George Cotsarelis at the University of Pennsylvania en route to the SID. I had the honor and pleasure of already being in his lab back in 2017, where I started my first independent project dealing with the role of DPP4 in hair follicle regeneration. This was critical to get going on my own research learning crucial methods and expertise from Prof. Cotsarelis, one of the authorities on the topic of hair follicle regeneration. The 2022 ESDR/SID Collegiality Award provided me with a chance to meet him and his lab again so we could catch up on my project and how it had developed after being in his lab. Then came the SID with Portland as the stage. What an amazing conference this was! I was again impressed by the quality of the talks and posters, the amount of people working in my area of interest and pushing skin research even further. After 2 years, being able to reconnect with old acquaintances and make new connections was the cherry on top. I am sure that this year´s SID and the visit at Prof. Cotsarelis´Lab will further my career even more. Also, the SID started some new and important collaborations for my work. I am beyond thankful for this opportunity given by the ESDR, supporting me once again like in previous occasions. Last, but not least, this was my first time in Portland and in the Pacific Northwest. Portland is a very interesting city with a very eclectic style and lots of things to and surrounded by majestic nature. I am planning to return here for more exploring and venturing into the natural wonders of Oregon and the Northwest.
