2024 program TBD

2023:

Visualizing the Future of Skin Biology and Dermatology

The 70th anniversary Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin, chaired by Dr. Dennis Roop, will take a broad look into the future of skin biology and Dermatology and include sessions on Skin Cancers, Tissue Repair and Fibrosis, Skin Inflammation and Keratinocyte – Immune Cell Cross-talk, and Emerging Therapeutic Approaches. Joe Gray, Ph.D. (OHSU) will provide the keynote speech.

Program Chair and Symposium Co-director
Dennis Roop, Ph.D.

Symposium Co-director
Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D.

Symposium Co-organizers
Stuart Yuspa, M.D.
Thomas Krieg, M.D., Ph.D.
Sabine Werner, Ph.D.

Session 1: Skin Cancer; Chair: Stuart Yuspa, M.D. (NIH)
Session 2: Tissue Repair and Fibrosis; Chair: Thomas Krieg, M.D., Ph.D. (Cologne)
Session 3: Keratinocyte – Immune Cell Cross-talk in Skin Inflammation; Chair: Sabine Werner, Ph.D. (ETH Zurich)
Session 4: Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches; Chairs: Dennis Roop, Ph.D. (Colorado), Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D. (OHSU)

Thursday, Oct 19
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	Shuttle Bus from PDX Leaves (reservation required, email: stoos@ohsu.edu)
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Second Shuttle from PDX Leaves (reservation required, email: stoos@ohsu.edu)
4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Welcome and introductory comments Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D. (OHSU) and Dennis Roop, Ph.D. (Colorado)Dinner Buffet in the Council House
7:15 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.	Keynote: Joe Gray, Ph.D. (OHSU) “Rethinking precision cancer treatment for advanced cancers – a systems biomedicine approach”

Friday, Oct 20
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	Breakfast
8:00 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.	Introductory Remarks Dennis Roop, Ph.D. (Colorado) and Sancy Leachman, M.D. Ph.D. (OHSU)
8:15 a.m. – 8:25 a.m.	Session 1: Advances in skin cancer research and therapy Session Moderator: Stuart Yuspa, M.D. (NIH)
8:25 a.m. – 8:55 a.m.	Allan Balmain, Ph.D. (UCSF) “Squamous cancer, pre-cancer, insights on tumor promotion.”
8:55 a.m. – 9:05 a.m.	Discussion
9:05 a.m. – 9:35 a.m.	Andrzej Dlugosz, M.D. (Michigan) “Cell fate reprogramming to drive Merkel cell carcinoma development in mice”
9:35 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.	Discussion
9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.	Sergey Nikolaev, M.D. (Gustave Roussey, Paris) “Basal Cell Carcinoma (From functional genomics to the mechanisms of treatment resistance)”
10:15 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.	Discussion
10:25 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.	Break
10:35 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.	Brigitte Widemann, M.D. (NIH) “Current understanding of pathogenesis and treatment of Neurofibromatosis 1 related peripheral nerve sheath tumors”
11:05 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.	Discussion
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.	Stephanie Goff, M.D. (NIH) “Cell-based immunotherapy for melanoma”
11:45 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.	Discussion
11:55 a.m. – 12:10 p.m.	Paolo Vignali, Ph.D. (University of Pittsburgh) “Hypoxia within melanoma tumors promotes an unappreciated suppressor function in exhausted T cells and limits antitumor immunity”
12:10 p.m. – 12:25 p.m.	Stephanie Holtorf (The Hormel Institute – University of Minnesota) “Identification of bone marrow-derived epithelial cells that may contribute to developing chronic cutaneous neoplasms in mice.”
12:25 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.	Lunch
1:15 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.	Session 2: Tissue Repair and Fibrosis Session Moderator: Thomas Krieg, M.D. (Cologne)
1:20 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.	Thomas Krieg, M.D. (Cologne) “Regulation of Fibroblast Activities – Implications for Tissue Repair and Fibrosis”
1:50 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	Discussion
2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.	Maksim Plikus, Ph.D. (UC Irvine) “Cell – Cell Communication in Skin Wound Healing”
2:30 p.m. – 2:40 p.m.	Discussion
2:40 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.	Michael Longaker, M.D. (Stanford) “Fibroblasts subsets, and the identification of specific signatures and their involvement in scar formation”
3:10 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.	Discussion
3:20 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.	Break
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	Sabine Eming, M.D. (Cologne) “Macrophage subsets and the role of reparative macrophages in remodeling the extracellular matrix”
4:00 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.	Discussion
4:10 p.m. – 4:40 p.m.	Alexander Marneros, M.D., Ph.D. (Harvard) “Aplasia cutis pathogenesis reveals mechanisms regulating skin formation and tissue fibrosis”
4:40 p.m. – 4.50 p.m.	Discussion
4:50 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.	Peter Marinkovich, M.D. (Stanford) “Bench to bedside development of the first FDA approved gene therapy for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa”
5:20 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.	Discussion
5:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.	Suneeti Madhavan (Case Western) “WNT signaling activation causes early decline of de novo lipogenesis leading to lipid depleted dermal adipocytes”
5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Ian Odell, M.D., Ph.D. (Yale) “IL-6 Trans-Signaling in a Humanized Mouse Model of Scleroderma”
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.	Dinner (Council House) Awards Presentation Society of Investigative Dermatology Eugene M. Farber Travel Awards for Young Investigators Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology Travel Award Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology Travel Award Taiwanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (TSID) Award European Society for Dermatological Research: ESDR Travel Award Director’s Award for Diversity
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.	Poster Reception (Dessert and wine tasting in Long House)

Saturday, Oct 21
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	Breakfast
8:00 a.m. – 8:05 a.m.	Announcements
8:05 a.m. – 8:10 a.m.	Session 3: Keratinocyte – Immune Cell Cross-talk in Skin Inflammation Session Moderator: Sabine Werner, Ph.D (ETH, Zurich)
8:10 a.m. – 8:40 a.m.	Sara Brown, M.D. (Edinburgh) “Keratinocytes are immunologically-active cells in their own right: evidence from genetic studies and primary cell culture”
8:40 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.	Discussion
8:50 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.	Michel Gilliet, M.D. (Lausanne) “Reciprocal immune-keratinocyte interactions in the pathogenesis of psoriasis”
9:20 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.	Discussion
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.	Shruti Naik, Ph.D. (NYU) “Targeting immune-epithelial circuits in inflammatory skin disease”
10:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m.	Discussion
10:10 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.	Break
10:20 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.	Sabine Werner, Ph.D. (ETH, Zurich) “Keratinocytes: key regulators of stromal and immune cell functions in tissue repair and cancer”
10:50 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.	Discussion
11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.	Benjamin Klein, M.D. (Michigan) “Mitochondrial Z-DNA and ZBP1 Drive Autoimmune Photosensitivity”
11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.	Jared Simmons (UC San Diego) “Dermal fibroblasts have a critical role in skin immunity through responses to keratinocyte interleukin-1”
11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.	Ricardo Cibotti, Ph.D. (NIH) “NIH/NIAMS Funding Opportunities”
11:45 a.m.	Lunch (on your own)
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.	FREE TIME / GOLF / CASCADE HIKE – Group Hike: Meet in the lobby at 12:30pm – Golf and Activities: salishan.com/adventure (on your own)
4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Round Table Discussions All attendees are welcome to participate. Please sign up for your top two choices, we will organize to keep the groups appropriately small, and there will be a chance to move to a new group halfway through. Joe Gray, Ph.D. (OHSU): “Rethinking precision cancer treatment for advanced cancers – a systems biomedicine approach” Sabine Eming, M.D. (Cologne): “Learning from organisms and tissues that perfectly regenerate to improve healing.” Christoph T. Ellebrecht, M.D. (UPenn): “From Zero to Lab: The First 18 Months as a PI – Challenges, Solutions, and Insights” Shruti Naik, Ph.D. (NYU): “Career Advancement. Discuss goal driven strategies that are essential for career advancement at all stages including self-advocacy, mentoring-up, networking, identifying opportunities and decision making” Erwin Tschachler M.D. (JID) and Annalisa VanHook, Ph.D. (Science Signaling): “Current Topics in Scientific Publishing: Navigating Peer Review and Publication” Ricardo Cibotti, Ph.D. and Peter Koch, Ph.D. (NIH/NIAMS): “How to maximize your chances to get the first R01/21 award” Wendy Weinberg, Ph.D. (FDA): “FDA procedures for application and review of biological therapeutics” Dennis Roop, Ph.D. (Colorado): “Academia and Industry: Pros and Cons of an Academic Postdoctoral Fellowship” Sancy Leachman, M.D., Ph.D. (OHSU): “Weighing ‘the good’ of moving diagnostic tests or treatments into clinical care vs the need for more research data”
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.	Dinner Molly Kulesz-Martin, Dennis Roop, Sancy Leachman “History and Future of Montagna”
7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.	Molly Kulesz-Martin, Ph.D., Director Emeritus, Retirement Celebration

Sunday, Oct 22
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	Breakfast
8:00 a.m. – 8:05 a.m.	Announcements
8:05 a.m. – 8:10 a.m.	Session 4: Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches Session Moderator: Dennis Roop, Ph.D. (Colorado)
8:10 a.m. – 8:40 a.m.	Tony Oro, M.D., Ph.D. (Stanford) “A Spatiotemporal and Machine-Learning Platform to Accelerate hPSC-derived Tissue Replacement”
8:40 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.	Discussion
8:50 a.m. – 9:20 a.m.	Ganna (“Anya”) Bilousova, Ph.D. (Colorado) “An Autologous iPSC-based Therapy for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Delivered via Cell Suspension”
9:20 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.	Discussion
9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.	Xiao-Jing Wang, M.D., Ph.D. (UC Davis) “Therapeutic effects of Smad7-based protein on dermatitis through upregulation of IL22RA2”
10:00 a.m. – 10:10 a.m.	Discussion
10:10 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.	Break
10:20 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.	Martin Alphonse, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins) “Inflammasome-mediated host defense against Staphylococcus aureus skin infections is mediated by neutrophil-intrinsic NLRP12 and caspase-8 signaling”
10:35 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.	Jenna Bowman (OHSU) “Patient-Specific Targeting of the T-Cell Receptor Variable Region as a Therapeutic Strategy in Clonal T-Cell Diseases”
10:50 a.m. – 11:20 a.m.	Luis Garza, M.D., Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins) “In human use of fibroblasts to modify skin identity”
11:20 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.	Discussion
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Christoph Ellebrecht, M.D. (UPenn) “Leveraging asymmetric cell division in CAR/CAAR T cells for optimized precision immunotherapy of pemphigus and other autoimmune conditions”
12:00 p.m. – 12:10 p.m.	Discussion
12:10 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.	Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.	David Hyams, M.D., F.A.C.S. “Integrating gene expression profiling to identify patient risk in invasive melanoma and high-risk squamous cell carcinoma”
1:30 p.m. – 1:40 p.m.	Discussion
1:40 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.	David Huang, M.D., Ph.D. (OHSU) “Optical coherence tomography and angiography: technology development and potential applications in the skin”
2:10 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.	Discussion
2:20 p.m. – 2:35 p.m.	Favour Akinjiyan (Washington University in St. Louis) “Exploring DDR2’s role in CAF extracellular matrix production and tumor progression”
2:35 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.	Meagan Branch (Mount Sinai) “The epigenetic control of re-epithelialization during adult skin wound healing”
2:50 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.	Panel Discussion Visualizing the Future of Dermatology and Skin Biology: Industry Perspectives
4:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.	Beach Campfire and Reception (Option to take the shuttle cars (5 minutes) to the beach or walk (10 minutes) Wine and appetizers provided (indoor venue)
6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.	Traditional Salmon Dinner at Salishan Alec Furst, MD Candidate Land Acknowledgment and Short Talk: “The importance of salmon to the Siletz tribe and our communities”

Monday Oct 23
7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.	Breakfast
8:15 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.	Bus departs for PDX Airport (boarding at 8:15 am for an on-time departure)
~11:30 a.m.	Bus arrives at PDX Airport

Sponsor Acknowledgement

The Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin is made possible due to NIH Grant Number 2 R13 AR009431-56 from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and our generous sponsors:

Champion Level Sponsors