Message from the President

Dear ACDS Members and Friends,

I am excited to serve as the next ACDS President following in the large footsteps of Dr. Jennifer Chen. It has truly been a few extraordinary years for the ACDS. CAMP 2.0 was launched in the fall of 2024 and now has over 120,000 products in its database and over 40,000 registered users and growing! Under the leadership of the CAMP Director, Dr. Amber R. Atwater, the database continues to adapt to the needs and requests of our members with updates rolling out continuously. Our peer mentorship program has been highly successful in connecting experienced patch testers with early career patch testers and forming virtual communities to discuss difficult cases. If you are interested in being a part of the peer mentorship group, click here.

The ACDS is also actively engaged with the FDA on the topic of patch testing allergens and our meeting has been delayed to the latter half of 2025 with a final meeting date to be determined. We have formed an FDA task force that is led by Dr. Alexandra Flamm, who is also the ACDS president-elect, and coordinating closely with the AAD. We will keep you all updated as we know more.

I would like to express gratitude to our outgoing executive committee members: Drs. Jennifer Chen, Kari Martin, and Kal Watsky. Drs. Chen and Martin have led the society through two extraordinary years of membership and educational growth. Dr. Chen will be staying on the executive committee as immediate past president. Drs. Alexandra Flamm and Cory Dunnick will be coming on as the president-elect and vice-president, respectively. Special thanks also goes to Dr. Kal Watsky who has tirelessly served as our Secretary-Treasurer for the last four years. He has ensured that ACDS is on strong financial footing as we enter 2025 and we cannot thank him enough for his visionary financial leadership. We are happy to announce that Dr. Ari Goldminz will be taking over as Secretary-Treasurer for the next four years.

Thank you to our outgoing ACDS board members: Drs. Salma de la Feld, Aida Lugo-Somolinos, and Walter Liszewski, who have given tirelessly to advancing the mission of the society. I would like to welcome our newest board members: Drs. John Anthony, Christen Mowad, and Anne Neeley. More information about the leadership of the ACDS can be found here.

Meetings and Events

We had a highly successful 36^th ACDS Annual Meeting live in Orlando, FL this year, full of great speakers and topics, as summarized in the Annual Meeting Highlights below, with 215 attendees.

As we do yearly, we crowned a new ACDS Allergen King (or Queen) bee. Congratulations to the 2025 ACDS Allergen King Bee, Anuk Burli, MD, and congratulations to all our other meeting award winners!

Upcoming Meetings and Events

Please mark your calendars for the 2025 ACDS Fall Meeting which will take place in Charleston, SC from October 17-18^th. Click here for more information and registration information. There will also be a Basics of Patch Testing workshop the day prior, on October 16^th. This workshop is ideal for residents, patch testing nurses, beginners in patch testing, and those who want a refresher course! We also have an action-packed agenda with novel topics that will expand your patch testing knowledge and dermatitis horizon. I hope to see you all there!

Please do not hesitate to contact us at info@contactderm.org if you have any new ideas for the society to work on, concerns, member news, or information you would like highlighted in a future ACDS Newsletter.
 

Sincerely,

JiaDe (Jeff) Yu, MD, MS
ACDS President

American Contact Dermatitis Society
555 E. Wells Street, Suite 1100 | Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 918-9805 | Fax: (414) 276-3349 | Email: info@contactderm.org
www.contactderm.org

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ACDS 2025 Leadership Updates

We are excited to announce the results of the 2025 Board of Directors election. Congratulations to the below board members who have taken their position effective March 7, 2025. Please join us in congratulating them on this great honor!
 

2025 Executive Members

2025 Board of Directors

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Thank you to the following for their continued service in new roles.

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Thank you to the following for their leadership over the years. We appreciate your service!

Click HERE for the complete list of the Board of Directors

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The American Contact Dermatitis Society is committed to advancing the care and understanding of dermatology and allergy through the promotion of education, research and advocacy. As part of this initiative, ACDS offers the following educational awards to help encourage research in these areas:

Clinical Research Award

The American Contact Dermatitis Society offers awards for the purpose of relevant clinical studies directed toward the subject of contact dermatitis. Studies that focus on clinical problems or have applications to clinical problems will receive preferential consideration. These awards will not exceed $5,000 each and will favor those in the $3,000 to $5,000 range.

Click here to see a list of past Clinical Research Award recipients.

Mentoring Award

ACDS Mentoring Awards are granted for the purpose of assisting young dermatologists including dermatology residents, dermatology fellows, or dermatologist up to 5 years out of residency to become leaders/experts in the field of contact dermatitis by acquiring additional academic skills which may not be available at their training institutions.

Click here to see a list of past Mentoring Award recipients.

Mid-Career Award

The ACDS Mid-Career Development Award provides financial support for ACDS members to defray the cost of acquiring specific skills and knowledge to enhance their professional development in some aspect of contact dermatitis and/or occupational dermatology.

Click here to see a list of past Mid-Career Award recipients.

For more information on any of these opportunities,
please visit our website here.

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CAMP Update

March 30^th marked exactly six months since the CAMP 2.0 rollout! During this time the system has grown to include over 43,000 registered users, with new users arriving to the system daily. Now up to version 2.4, The CAMP team has been working hard to make improvements with updates to the search engine, product listings, cross-reactor groups, user-functionality and more! Thank you all for your patience and support during this transition and going forward as we work on continued CAMP improvements. Please read below for some quick updates, helpful CAMP tips, and new features coming soon:

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Updated Patient Allergen Handout

If you haven’t already noticed, the previous PDF Safe List automatically generated by the CAMP system has been fully revised. The new 2-page handout includes your patient’s Search Codes, list of allergens, and important information about ACD and the app. We have revised the document with larger type, more white space, and clearer instructions on how to access and register for CAMP. Check out a sample of the new layout here.

Update Patient Safe List INSTEAD of Generating a New One

When an existing CAMP user needs adjustments to their allergen list, please remember to update their codes rather than issuing new codes each time there is a change. This is necessary because each set of codes is assigned to one email address. Learn more about creating versus updating allergen search codes here.

ACDS Staff CANNOT Modify Allergen Lists or Recommend Products

We sometimes receive messages from CAMP users requesting changes to their allergen list or inquiring about whether a product/ingredient is safe for them to use. As a friendly reminder, ACDS staff does not have access to your patient’s information and cannot modify allergen search codes or make recommendations on the safety of products or ingredients.

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Coming Soon!

Print Educational Handouts with Patient Allergen List

Stay tuned for a new feature on the CAMP Provider side which will allow you to conveniently print all Educational Handouts associated with a patient’s allergen list at the same time you share the patient’s safe list. 

Changes to Fragrance Cross-Reactor Groups

Thank you to the CAMP Cross-Reactor Committee for many hours spent reviewing over 15,000 fragrance ingredients in the CAMP system. This important work ensures that patients with fragrance allergies have optimized safe lists based on the most updated medical literature available. As a reminder, CAMP offers the ability to choose Standard or Restrictive Fragrance lists based on the needs of your patient. Please note that as we implement updates to fragrance ingredients, you may notice minor adjustments in how fragrance-containing products appear in CAMP.

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For additional CAMP resources and to watch tutorials, please visit the Learning Center here.

Questions about CAMP? Contact us at campinfo@contactderm.org. 

Click here to view all recent CAMP updates

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Changes in the Editorial Board of Dermatitis

In 2021, I was ‘promoted’ to Editor-in-Chief of Dermatitis after serving as Deputy Editor under the leadership of Dr. Ponciano “Chito” Cruz. Since the post of Deputy Editor was vacant, I recruited Dr. Jake Turrentine to fill this important position. After close to five years of dedicated volunteer service to the journal, Jake found it necessary to resign from this position due to professional time constraints. We are very grateful to Jake for his thoughtful approach and for his selfless dedication to the journal with many hours of volunteer service. Since I was new to the role of Editor-in-Chief, Jake helped me to define the critical role of the deputy editor for the journal. Because Jake remains committed to the success of the journal, he will continue to support Dermatitis as a member of the advisory board.

The Editorial office of Dermatitis has been quite fortunate to recruit Dr. Marjorie Montanez-Wiscovich as deputy editor. Marjorie has been a real asset to the journal since assuming this role in 2024. She has been instrumental in developing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives for the journal, which we anticipate will be a regular feature of the journal going forward. As well, Marjorie has played a key role in supporting the growth of the journal and creative input for other features of Dermatitis.

Dr. Sonja Molin is now an Associate Editor for Contact Dermatitis, and will be responsible for triaging manuscripts that are related to Contact Dermatitis and Patch testing. She is a faculty member at Charité Hospital in Berlin, Germany and is also an Adjunct Associate Professor, Division of Dermatology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. Sonja is board certified in Dermatology and Allergy and is a member of the ACDS Board of Directors. She has a robust publication portfolio related to contact dermatitis and has a special interest in hand dermatitis.

In 2024, we also lost the services of our section editor for the self-assessment quiz, Dr. Larry Feigenbaum, who has been involved in creating the quiz associated with each issue of the journal for over five years. We are grateful to Larry for his years of reliable volunteer service in maintaining the self-assessment quiz at a high level of excellence. Drs. Jennifer Chen and Peggy Wu have assumed the section editor duties for this feature of the journal.

Lastly, as I summarized during the ACDS business meeting, Dermatitis now has a presence in the realm of Social Media. Drs. Rosemary DeShazo and Jamie Schlarbaum are the section editors for this new on-line feature of Dermatitis. Their posts will highlight the journal’s scientific content and news. Their Linkedin presence went live in February 2025, and they have already accumulated over 50 followers. I encourage our membership to visit their site, follow, like, and share the Dermatitis link with other members, business partners and other interested parties.

www.linkedin.com/company/dermatitis

For our outgoing members, we thank you for your dedicated service. We welcome our new editorial board members, and look forward to working together to continue to improve Dermatitis.

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Call for Manuscripts

Practical Techniques

Dermatitis is seeking manuscripts that will provide practical techniques about procedures used to evaluate or manage cutaneous allergy including contact dermatitis, type I allergic reactions, reactions to environmental agents or systemic reactions to medications.   Examples may include, but are not limited to: novel methods for open or closed patch testing, scoring systems, clinical research methods, repeat open application tests, repeat insult patch tests, allergy alert tests, intradermal challenges, oral challenges, ocular challenges, extemporaneous formulations of patient-supplied materials for patch testing (such as personal care products, work-related products, materials derived from plants clothing, gloves, or other ‘non-standard’ allergens), skin prick testing, photo-patch testing, photo-testing, opportunities to increase the efficiency of patch testing, and novel patient counseling materials. As appropriate, the articles may include commercial sources of materials needed to perform the techniques discussed, provided any author(s) conflicts of interest are disclosed.

Manuscripts can be up to 3,000 words in length, include up to three figures or tables (additional supplemental on-line only figures, tables and videos are permitted).
 

Chronic Hand Eczema (Hand Dermatitis)

Submit your study, review, case report, letter, Pearls & Zebras, Images related to Chronic Hand Eczema by December 31, 2025.

Coordinating Editor: Anthony Gaspari, MD

The editor of Dermatitis is excited to bring to its readership a state-of-the-art comprehensive collection of reviews, studies, letters and Pearls and Zebras on Chronic Hand Eczema and its mechanisms.We especially encourage submissions of original studies in this topic although other types of manuscripts will be considered.

Areas of interest include: clinical trials, treatment modalities, epidemiology/population studies, health care disparities, skin of color, allergy/patch testing, basic science studies, and immunobiology as it related to chronic hand eczema. Case series or case reports will also be considered.

For further questions, please contact the Editor at: aagaspari@gmail.com, Professor, Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.
 

Continuing Medical Education Opportunities Associated with Dermatitis.

Dermatitis has recently renewed their contact for sponsorship of CME credit (University of California Irvine) for taking the self-assessment quiz that is published monthly in our journal. Our application for this activity has just been approved by the CME office at University of California Irvine and is valid for a two year period. The self-assessment quiz may be accessed at the journal website.

All members of the ACDS are encouraged to take advantage of this new feature of the journal. Up to 6 hours of Category 1 CME can be obtained per year. This represents one hour of Category 1 CME for each quiz associated with each of the six regular issues that are published annually. The same CME quiz will be associated with any themed, “Bonus Issues” published by Dermatitis.

We have been monitoring the use of the self-assessment quiz for CME by our membership, and very few ACDS members have taken advantage of this feature since its initiation this summer. We encourage our membership to utilize this feature to test your knowledge and support the documentation of your continuing medical education.

The journal is pleased to announce that our other CME pathway ("reviewer rewards" program) has also been renewed for another two years by our sponsor at University of California Irvine. 

We are pleased that this feature is being regularly utilized by our volunteer reviewers.  We offer 1 hour of category 1 CME credit for each initial manuscript critique of either a study or review article (up to 5 hours of category 1 CME credit per year). We will continue to offer this "reviewer rewards" program going forward and encourage our volunteer reviewers to take advantage of this opportunity.
 

Submitted by:
Anthony Gaspari, MD
Dermatitis Editor-in-Chief

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Published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and led by Anthony Gaspari, MD, Dermatitis^® is the leading peer-reviewed scientific journal in contact dermatitis, and the only journal in its field that publishes leading research in atopic, contact, occupational, environmental, and drug dermatitis.

The journal is an essential resource for dermatologists, allergists, immunologists, and toxicologists and is now available only from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. - make sure you and your colleagues don't miss an issue!
 

Click here to request access from your institutional library now.

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Dermatology Foundation

The Dermatology Foundation pays annual tribute to dermatologists whose exemplary capabilities and dedication have helped to make the specialty what it is today. Of the five 2025 Dermatology Foundation Honorary Awards, three recipients are ACDS members:

		Practitioner of the Year Award James S. Taylor, MD
		Lifetime Career Educator Award Vincent A. De Leo, MD
		Clark W. Finnerud Award Jenny E. Murase, MD

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American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)

AAD Presidential Citation In recognition of contributions to the RUC team Alexandra Flamm, MD, FAAD

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Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS)

The mission of the Women's Dermatologic Society is to be the premier organization cultivating personal and professional development of dermatologists dedicated to excellence in patient care, mentorship, volunteerism, and leadership. Two ACDS members were recently recognized by WDS:

		Mentor of the Year Award Jennifer E. Murase, MD
		Walter B. Shelley, MD Leadership Award James Taylor, MD

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Congratulations to all of these outstanding members!

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ACDS 36^th Annual Meeting Highlights

The 36^th Annual Meeting of the American Contact Dermatitis Society (ACDS) was held on March 6^th in Orlando, FL. The meeting featured several outstanding speakers and engaging topics. The planning committee included Chair Dr. Salma de la Feld along with Deputy Chair Dr. Walter Liszewski and members Drs. Nicole Burkemper, James Cox, Alison Ehrlich, Kari Martin and Jake Turrentine.

The meeting began with Dr. Timothy Berger speaking during the Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. sponsored morning session on the topic of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria. Our ACDS President, Dr. Jennifer Chen, then gave the opening remarks. Next, Dr. Salma de la Feld, the meeting chair, gave a warm welcome to the attendees and introduced Dr. Amber Atwater who announced Toluene-2,5-diamine sulfate (PTDS) as the 2025 ACDS Allergen of the Year.

Following this, the first of our Hot Topic sessions were presented: Immunology of Itch, from Dr. Ethan Lerner, New and Emergent Drugs for Chronic Itch / Anti-Itch Toolbox, from Dr. Shawn Kwatra, then Microplastics and Forever Chemicals from Dr. Walter Liszewski. All Fisher presentations followed with speakers discussing wide-ranging topics within the fields of atopic, contact, and occupational dermatitis.

During the lunch session, sponsored by Dormer Laboratories, Inc. / Chemotechnique Diagnostics, Dr. Chen convened the ACDS Annual Business Meeting, acknowledging meeting sponsors and outgoing board members, recognizing current board members, and welcoming new board members. Dr. Chen then presented the presidential citations, and Dr. Kal Watsky provided the ACDS Secretary-Treasurer's report. Dr. Amber R. Atwater presented a CAMP update and Dr. Tony Gaspari, Dermatitis Editor-in-Chief, gave a Journal update.

Lunch was followed by the Alexander Fisher Lecturer, Dr. Sharon Jacob, who presented Ask Alex – Looking Beyond the Horizon. This incredible lecture reviewed insightful lessons from Dr Alexander Fisher’s “Ask Alex” column and highlighted important pearls in the diagnosis of contact dermatitis.

This was followed by a Hot Topics Panel Discussion on Billing Updates: An Academic vs Private Practice Perspective led by Drs. Alexandra Flamm, Bruce Brod, and Jake Turrentine. The first of our General Sessions rounded out the early afternoon.  After the afternoon networking break, the remaining Hot Topics were presented: Updates on Adhesives, from Dr. David Cohen, and Immunology and Emerging Therapies for Atopic Neuro Dermatitis from Dr. Gil Yosipovitch.  This was followed by the remaining General Session lectures.

Dr. Ari Goldminz then presented the Fisher Resident and Poster awards. Congratulations to all our winners! The meeting concluded with the Contact Allergen Bee, moderated by Drs. Nicole Burkemper and Jeff Yu, and the cocktail reception.

Thank you for attending this year’s meeting and we look forward to seeing everyone next year for the 37^th Annual Meeting, which will take place March 26, 2026, in Denver, CO.
 

Submitted by:
Salma de la Feld, MD
36^th Annual Meeting Committee Chair

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Fisher Lectures: Available Online for ACDS Members

The Alexander Fisher Lectureship is awarded in honor of Alexander Fisher, MD honoring his contributions to the field of contact dermatitis. The lecturer is selected based on his or her contributions to contact dermatitis, reflection of the spirit of Dr. Fisher's enthusiasm for the subject of contact dermatitis, and for sharing knowledge and experience in evaluating patients.

Dr. Sharon Jacob was selected as the ACDS Alexander Fisher keynote speaker for the 2025 ACDS Annual Meeting. Her presentation, "Ask Alex - Looking Beyond the Horizon," is now available for ACDS members to view alongside past Alexander Fisher lectures on the ACDS website here.

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Complete the Event Surveys!

We encourage all attendees to provide feedback by completing the conference survey by clicking here.

Thank you for completing this survey; your feedback helps us make improvements to future events.

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Congratulations to all Award Recipients!

2025 Alexander A. Fisher Resident Award

The Alexander A. Fisher Resident Award is presented to the best oral presentation by a resident or medical student at the Scientific Session of the ACDS Annual Meeting.

2025 Fran Storrs Poster Award

The Fran Storrs Poster Award is presented to the top three research/review posters at the Scientific Session of the ACDS Annual Meeting.

2025 Howard I. Maibach Travel Award

The Howard I. Maibach Travel Award provides travel grants to the American Contact Dermatitis Society's Annual Meeting for the presentation of work (either an oral presentation or poster presentation) by investigators outside of the U.S. and Canada.

2025 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Travel Award

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Travel Award provides travel grants to the American Contact Dermatitis Society's Annual Meeting for the presentation of work (either an oral presentation or poster presentation) which focuses on diversity, equity, inclusion, or healthcare disparities within dermatitis.

2025 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Healthcare Disparities Poster Award

In recognition of a new initiative surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion, The American Contact Dermatitis Society is pleased to announce the availability of the new DEI Poster Award. This award will recognize work focused around diversity, equity, inclusion and health disparities within dermatitis.

2025 Contact Allergen Bee Winners

All ACDS Annual Meeting resident attendees had an opportunity to participate in the popular Contact Allergen Bee sponsored by the ACDS Dermatitis Journal. Congrats to our winners!

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The following members/entities were recognized at the ACDS 36^th Annual Meeting for their various contributions within/to ACDS:

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ACDS wishes to thank the following sponsors for their support of the ACDS 36^th Annual Meeting:

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You can now purchase items displaying the ACDS logo!

ACDS has launched an online store through Lands’ End where you can purchase a variety of items with the ACDS logo embroidered, printed, etc. on the item(s).
 

Available items include...

...and more!

Order yours at

business.landsend.com/store/acds/

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ACDS 2025 Fall Meeting: Registration Opening SOON!

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American Contact Dermatitis Society^®
555 East Wells Street, Suite 1100 | Milwaukee, WI 53202
P: (414) 918-9805 | F: (414) 276-3349 | info@contactderm.org

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