Dear Colleagues

On behalf of the ESDR Board and the organising committee I would like to invite you to the next ESDR meeting in Helsinki, Finland (8–11 September 2010).  Our dermatological colleagues in Finland promise that this will be a meeting of fun, friendship and fabulous science.

The ESDR is 40 years old this year; congratulations to the ESDR on the birthday at which people frequently say that “life is just beginning”.  In reality, life is just getting better and better for the ESDR.  As a result of the hard work undertaken by many of the current and former Board members, including many of its former presidents, the ESDR continues to grow in strength and in numbers and has established itself as hosting “THE MEETING” to attend for top quality science during the day and good socialising each evening.

The ESDR recognises that major advances in clinical care for patients with skin disorders result from a combination of advances in the understanding of genetic, epidemiological and molecular processes in normal and diseased skin, with a continuing drive towards the development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic agents through high-quality interactions between clinicians, scientists and members of the pharmaceutical / biotechnological industries.  In addition, there is widespread recognition within our society that the optimal clinical care for future patients with skin diseases rests not only on the shoulders of its current members, and on the members of its sister societies (SID and JSID), but is dependent on first-rate education and mentoring of junior clinicians and scientists-in-training across the world.   

This means that the program for the annual conference has been developed in a manner which provides something for everyone, via a mixture of invited lectures, original research presentations, symposia and workshops.  But it is not just about passive listening during these sessions, it is about active participation through asking questions, chatting to other delegates during the coffee breaks and discussing the latest science which has just been presented by familiar and not-so-familiar faces.  Equally important, it is about you presenting your original research to an international audience of friends and colleagues; to do this, all you need to do is submit an abstract before the deadline of 28 May 2010.

Looking forward to seeing you in Helsinki.

Eugene Healy
ESDR President