Seminars

Introductory Basic Science Seminars

Introductory Basic Science seminars are geared toward medical students, dermatology residents and fellows. These weekly seminars from July to November are taught by SBDRC members and provide a basic framework to understand how advances in basic science influence clinical practice. The annual, four-hour genetic skin disease rounds combines training about clinical features with an update on research.

Bench to Bedside Series

The Bench to Bedside series will be held monthly (except summer months) before Northwestern Grand Rounds. In this series, a scientist at Northwestern presents research to clinically oriented academic and community-based faculty, as well as dermatology residents, students and fellows. The scientist prepares the session jointly with a dermatologist from Northwestern, so that the level of the presentation is appropriate and the relevance to dermatological medicine is clearly shown. This format cements Dermatology to the basic science departments and sends a powerful signal to residents, fellows and medical students that the discipline of dermatology is based upon basic science and research.

Clinic to Bench Talks

The Clinic to Bench talks are presented quarterly by SBDRC clinician members from Dermatology and teaches scientists about the clinical impact of various dermatological diseases on patients.

Grand Rounds

The monthly Grand Rounds of the Department of Dermatology includes two lectures from a visiting professor, often a physician-scientist, who also participates in patient viewing and discussion. Many invited visiting physician-scientists present another research forum on Tuesday afternoon to the Northwestern research community.

Journal Club

A quarterly Journal Club for residents and fellows is designed to review basic science progress and teach critical evaluation of a scientific paper. Each session is run by a resident, with discussion directed by Drs. Lavker, Perez White and Jaehyuk Choi.

Skin Research Morning

The annual Skin Research Morning showcases to SBDRC members and trainees the breadth and value of both clinical and bench research activities by SBDRC members, especially those that involve trainees. This morning supplements the yearly grand rounds at Northwestern in which all residents at Northwestern are expected to present their hypothesis-driven research throughout their three years of training; these are reviewed quarterly with Drs. Lavker and West.

Lectures in Life Sciences

Lectures in Life Sciences annually sponsord an internationally renowned bisiting professor who investigates cutaneous biology. This format highlights skin research science to the entire Northwestern community (including potential SBDRC members), provides visibility for skin biology and stresses translating skin bench research to clinical practice.

Epithelial Biology Research Initiative

The Epithelial Biology Research Initiative group meets every other week at the lunch hour. This multidisciplinary program provides a forum for laboratories to present their research as a “work in progress” to obtain feedback from a large group with broad expertise. EBRI is a joint SDRC venture with the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University’s Tumor Invasion, Metastasis Angiogenesis group. Current participants include scientists from Cell & Developmental Biology, Dermatology, Medicine, Microbiology-Immunology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Urology and Surgery. Common themes are stem cell biology, wound healing, intermediate filament biology, adhesion and cell motility, signaling and host-pathogen interactions, mirroring our investigator groups.

Research Works in Progress

Dermatology’s Research Works in Progress series meets bi-monthly for two hours and includes presentations about ongoing research by faculty scientists and trainees, largely within the Department of Dermatology, and represent an opportunity for feedback and discussion. SBDRC members from outside of Dermatology are encouraged to attend to promote both mentoring and communication. This series is organized by a junior faculty member (currently Han Peng, PhD) as an opportunity to develop leadership and organizational skills in a mentored setting.

Journal Club

A SBDRC Journal Club, dedicated to reviewing investigative papers related to skin biology research, will be headed by Dr. Lavker, the associate center director.

Fibrosis Consortium

The fibrosis consortium, originally spearheaded through the SBDRC, has a symposium to discuss fibrosis, including its relationship with epithelial cells.