Women in Science in the ESDR

Snehlata Kumari, Australia

The University of Queensland

Skin is a vital organ that is essential for maintaining body homeostasis.

During my PhD, I was working on the role of epithelial- immune cells communication via cytokine signaling and their impacts on the maintenance of skin homeostasis and in regulating skin inflammation. It was fascinating to understand the roles of different signaling pathways involved in maintaining skin homeostasis and how dysregulated signaling triggers inflammation resulting in various skin diseases.

I am curious to understand signaling pathways and the mechanisms of inflammation to find a better cure for skin diseases like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and skin cancer.

A piece of advice for
 young woman peers?

Clarisse Ganier, UK

King’s College London 

I got interested in skin research since my Masters working on the development of gene and cell therapies for a rare skin disease: epidermolysis bullosa. I never left skin research after that.

A woman scientist
who inspired you in your career

Ncoza C. Dlova, South Africa

 University of KwaZulu-Natal

First of all the absence and scarcity of African dermatologists in South Africa, who understood black skin and its nuances was the main driver for me to specialize in dermatology with a focus on skin and hair research that commonly affect this population.

Dr Susan Taylor.

A piece of advice for
 young woman peers?

Nicole Ward, USA

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

While studying neurovascular interactions in the skin I serendipitously created a mouse model that developed flakey skin.  Kevin Cooper’s lab was across the hallway from mine, and I kept going over to his lab to ask for help.  The rest is history.  I moved my primary appointment to Dermatology and focused on studying psoriasis and psoriasis-related comorbidities using mouse models, and collaborating with my dermatologist colleagues, especially Johann Gudjonsson, to translate our work to and from psoriasis patients.

A piece of advice for
 young woman peers?

Daniela Robles-Espinoza, Mexico

National Autonomous University of Mexico

When I started my PhD, we teamed up with another research team (led by Prof Newton-Bishop in Leeds University) in order to understand why some families were at higher genetic risk of developing melanoma. They had been working with melanoma-prone families for decades, so they had many very valuable samples and a very rich database, and we had the bioinformatics expertise to analyse patients’ DNA and look for clues. Since then, I became deeply interested in understanding this type of cancer, and since then, I have mostly applied my knowledge to the study of skin cancer, especially melanoma.

A piece of advice for
 young woman peers?

Márta Széll, Hungary

University of Szeged

In 1999 I received a great job offer to establish a new laboratory for the investigation of the molecular pathogenesis of psoriasis. At that time I was already a senior molecular biologist but the topic was absolutely new and at the same time very interesting for me. I have been enjoying the ever challenging and rapidly developing field of dermatological science.

With her clear-cut way of performing basic science Fiona Watt always inspired me in my research activities. This is why I was very much honoured that I was the one who cited her scientific excellence when she became the Honorary Member of ESDR in September 2022.