Invited Speakers and Preliminary Talk Topics

Daniel D. Bikle, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco

Vitamin D and immunoprotection

Nicholas M. Dean, Ph.D., Excaliard Pharmaceuticals

Small molecule therapeutic technologies/oligonucleotide therapeutics

Richard Eckert, Ph.D., University of Maryland

s100 proteins and the skin

Peter Elias, M.D., San Francisco VA Medical Center

Neuropeptides of the skin

William Fenical, Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego

Biochemical products of marine life and the treatment of skin disease

Richard Gallo, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego

Anti-inflammatory role of skin flora

Barbara Gilchrest, M.D., Boston University

Oligonucleotide therapeutics

Michel Gilliet, M.D., UT M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Inflammatory mediators of the skin

Richard D. Granstein, M.D., Cornell University

Neuropeptides of the skin

Bob Hancock, Ph.D., University of British Columbia

Science driven medicine

Heidi Kong, M.D., National Cancer Institute

Cutaneous microbiomes

Thomas Luger, M.D., University of Muenster

Neuropeptides and immunity

Ralf Paus, M.D., University of Luebeck, University of Manchester

Hair follicle innate immune system

Katherine Radek, Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago

Acetylcholine in immunity

Jens-Michael Schroeder, Ph.D., University of Kiel

AMP discovery

Martin Steinhoff, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco

Neural signaling in the skin

Xiao-Jing Wang, M.D., Ph.D., University of Colorado Denver

Targeted psoriasis PUVA therapy and TGFb

Michael Zasloff, M.D., Ph.D., Georgetown University

Innate immunity

Small Molecules: Skin as the First Line of Defense

The 2010 Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin will examine the role of small molecules in skin behaviors such as immune defense, growth and differentiation. Topics will include antimicrobial host defense molecules, inflammatory mediators, neuropeptides, microbial products, microRNAs, and "science driven medicine." The program will examine cutting-edge scientific discoveries that can make the most of ongoing clinical trials in dermatology; recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of skin disease; the role of epigenetics; and limitations of genetic approaches to individualized disease therapy. Experimental design and data analysis from cell culture and animal models will be merged with clinical observations that ultimately inform new questions, research directions, and cures.

For more information visit: http://www.montagnasymposium.org/2010schedule.html