May 2024
SkIN Canada Skin Investigation Network of Canada
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Funded by
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
June 25-27, 2024 in Ottawa
Dr. Melanie Laurin
Dr. Melanie Laurin is a regular researcher in the Oncology axis of the CHU of Quebec – Laval University Research Center. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, Medical Biochemistry and Pathology at Laval University. Her research activities focus on understanding the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate skin embryonic development and how these can contribute when deregulated to skin cancer progression. Throughout her career, Dr. Laurin’s work has been published in prestigious journals. Notably, one of her breakthrough received a best publication award from the CIHR Institute of Cancer Research and was identified as a Top 10 discoveries funded by the Canadian Cancer Society in 2013.
Team Development Award Project Title: Development of a in vivo mouse screening platform to identify molecular effectors of non-melanoma skin cancers.
Lay Abstract: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin is the most frequently occurring form of all human cancers. Due to the striking number of cases, BCC treatment creates an important financial burden of the healthcare system. While BCCs may be easily treatable via surgical removal, a significant cohort of patients with advanced cases fail to respond or develop resistance to presently available treatments. Moreover, in addition to high risk of permanent skin damage with BCC resection, current therapeutic regimes are often associated with emergence of other medical complications, and there is a high incidence of disease reoccurrence. Thus, new and improve treatment options are urgently required. Using mouse genetics, our study aims at identifying previously unknown regulators of BCC progression.
Scientific Summary: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), are the most common cancers. Our team overarching goal is to identify new regulators of BCC progression to uncover new therapeutic opportunities for the treatment of aggressive cases by capitalizing on our ability to mimic this cancer in mice. With the help of a SkIN Canada team development grant, we successfully establish at our research institution an ultrasound-guided in utero lentiviral injection platform that specifically targets skin progenitors during our first year of funding. Over the next year, we will move forward with our goals. Next generation sequencing efforts have generated massive genomic and transcriptomic datasets that facilitate the identification of genome alterations and gene expression changes that correlate with malignant progression. Yet, it remains crucial to distinguish the perturbations that directly contribute to tumor progression from the ones that are irrelevant. Key mutations driving BCC initiation, namely in the Hedgehog signaling pathway, have been identified. Still, these mutations alone do not explain the variation in outcome observed across patients. To address this, we propose to take advantage of our mouse platform, to support high-throughput functional testing of candidate regulators of BCC progression previously identified via the analysis of patient’s genomic and transcriptomic datasets. The funding from SkIN Canada is crucial as it will help us with the completion of proof-of-concept experiments toward the obtention of full project grant funding.
Dr. Mina Tadrous
Dr. Mina Tadrous is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto who leads research focused on evaluating drug policies and post-marketing surveillance of medications. He works closely with policymakers and uses large data sets to answer questions about medication real-world safety and effectiveness and improving the optimal use of medications. Dr. Tadrous is currently a scientist at Women’s College Hospital (WCH) Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care (WIHV), an investigator with the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), and ICES adjunct scientist.
Team Development Award Project Title: Evidence-based Management of Skin conditions Collaborative (EMSC).
Lay Abstract: We will work as a team, made up of doctors, pharmacists, researchers, and patients, to provide evidence-based recommendations on how best to treat skin conditions. We want to answer questions that are important to both patients and doctors. Our plan fits with SkIN Canada’s goals of building a national network for skin research, bringing together researchers, doctors, and patients to continue to grow the skin research community. To demonstrate how well we can work together, we’ll start with a project about treating psoriasis where we will conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis. This will be used as a test project to see how well we work as a team to answer questions patients and doctors think are important for psoriasis research. Patients will be a part of every step to make sure our results help people with psoriasis. Trainees will also play a contribution to the research, and they’ll learn the best ways to do this type of research. If we are successful, we’ll keep working together on more projects about skin conditions. We’ll apply to different grants to help us do more research related to the treatment of psoriasis and other skin conditions, helping patients and clinicians make treatment decisions using the best evidence.
Scientific Summary: We will work together as a new interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team of clinicians, researchers and patients to develop a strong collaborative capable of answering questions on the evidence-based treatment of skin disease that are important to patients and clinicians. Our proposal aligns with SkIN Canada’s overall goals of developing national infrastructure for multicentre skin research, fostering collaborations between researchers, clinicians and patients and creating a new team that will grow the skin research community by engaging trainees and young investigators. Using a systematic review and network meta-analysis of topical treatments for psoriasis as a demonstration project, we will optimize our collaborative workflows and demonstrate the feasibility of working together as a team while simultaneously answering a research question identified by patients and clinicians as a top research priority for psoriasis in the SkIN Canada Priority Setting Initiatuve. Patient partners will be involved at every stage, ensuring our results meet the needs of people living with psoriasis. Trainees will make substantial contributions and will learn best practices for advanced evidence synthesis. If our team is successful, we will build on that success by collaborating on future projects in evidence-based dermatology. This will include applying for funding to CIHR, Canadian Dermatology Foundation and disease-specific funders to conduct evidence-synthesis projects. We will also be poised to apply for funding from organizations such as the American Academy of Dermatology to directly support clinical practice guideline development.
Can SkIN Canada help?
Request support for your study
SkIN Canada has launched a formal study intake process for investigators requesting support from the Network. Please visit our RESOURCES page for more information on how we can help with funding, patient engagement, database creation, project administration, ethics application, or statistical support.
Skin Canada Travel and Mobility Awards – Application Deadline October 15, 2024
1. Travel Award: The deadline for the next SkIN Canada Trainee Travel Award is Tuesday October 15 (2024) before 11:59 PM ET. SkIN Canada provides partial funding for trainees to attend conferences as part of their training experience. A limited number of awards are available each year on a competitive basis. There are two competition periods per year, one in May and one in October. Applicants who have previously received funding through this program in a fiscal year are not eligible to receive funding until the following fiscal year. The value of the SkIN Canada Travel Award is a maximum of $1,000 CAD.
2. Mobility Award: The deadline for the next SkIN Canada Trainee Mobility Award is Tuesday October 15 (2024) before 11:59 PM ET. The SkIN Canada Trainee Mobility Award provides funding for trainees in the field of skin research to study and conduct research for a brief period in a laboratory other than their own within Canada or abroad as part of their training experience. A limited number of awards are available each year on a competitive basis. There will be two competition periods per year, one in May and one in October. Applicants are eligible for the award only once during a particular training period or level of study (e.g. MSc, PhD, Clinical residency, or Postdoctoral training).
The value of the Skin Canada Trainee Mobility Award is up to $4,000 which can be used for the trainee’s research in a laboratory other than their own, within Canada or abroad for a period ranging from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Skin Canada Training Committee Opening
The Training Committee represents skin research trainees from across Canada. The Committee considers representations from across Canada to be valuable. The committee currently has an opening for a PhD student or a post-doctoral fellow from any of the Western Provinces. If interested in joining this dynamic committee, please send your expression of interest and CV to info@skincanada.org.
Workshops of Interest to Skin Research Trainees
The Annual SkIN Canada Workshops will be held at the upcoming Canadian Skin Research Conference at Novotel in Ottawa (June 25-27, 2024). The workshop topics will include ‘From Graduate School to the Job Market’ held on Tuesday June 25th from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET and ‘Skin of Colour Research’ which will be held on Wednesday June 26th from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM ET. All trainees are encouraged to participate. There is no registration fee.
Seeking Novel Therapies for the Treatment of Skin Disorders
Eczema Society of Canada Research Grant Program
The Eczema Society of Canada (ESC) is dedicated to improving the lives of Canadians living with eczema by providing support, education, and raising awareness. ESC’s Research Grant Program provides an opportunity for Canadian researchers to apply for funding for research and/or eczema education projects. Grant amounts range up to $25,000 per grant.
ESC is pleased to invite Canadian researchers to apply today for this funding opportunity. Please help them spread the word! Applications may include research and/or educational projects that will work toward improving the lives of eczema sufferers here in Canada.
The Application Deadline is September 1, 2024.
- Bechard K, Gniadecki R. Use of Baricitinib in a patient with treatment-resistant pyoderma gangrenosum. SAGE Open Med Case Rep. 2024;12:2050313X241235444.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38524384
- Silverberg JI, Gooderham MJ, Paller AS, Deleuran M, Bunick CG, Gold LFS, Hijnen D, Calimlim BM, Lee WJ, Teixeira HD, Hu X, Zhang S, Yang Y, Grada A, Platt AM, Thaci D. Early and Sustained Improvements in Symptoms and Quality of Life with Upadacitinib in Adults and Adolescents with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis: 52-Week Results from Two Phase III Randomized Clinical Trials (Measure Up 1 and Measure Up 2). Am J Clin Dermatol. Mar 25 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38528257
- Silverberg JI, Cronin A, Jones EA, Dave SS, McLean RR, Greenberg J, Strober B, Bieber T, Gooderham M, Paller AS, Simpson EL. Characterization of disease burden, treatment and comorbidities in a large, real-world cohort of patients with atopic dermatitis: The CorEvitas Atopic Dermatitis Registry. JAAD Int. Jun 2024;15:127-130.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38545488
- Stein Gold L, Adam DN, Albrecht L, Alonso-Llamazares J, Ferris LK, Gooderham MJ, Hong HC, Kempers SE, Kircik LH, Lebwohl M, Loo WJ, Nahm WK, Papp KA, Stewart D, Toth DP, Zirwas M, Krupa D, Snyder S, Burnett P, Higham R, Berk DR. Long-term safety and effectiveness of roflumilast cream 0.3% in adults with chronic plaque psoriasis: a 52-week, phase 2, open-label trial. J Am Acad Dermatol. Mar 29 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38556093
- Park M, Vu D, Alhusayen R. Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole as a Mono-Antibiotic Therapy for Hidradenitis Suppurativa. J Cutan Med Surg. Apr 9 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38591774
Wound Healing, Fibrosis and Regeneration
- Attiogbe E, Larochelle S, Chaib Y, Mainzer C, Mauroux A, Bordes S, Closs B, Gilbert C, Moulin VJ. An in vitro autologous, vascularized, and immunocompetent Tissue Engineered Skin model obtained by the self-assembled approach. Acta biomaterialia. Sep 15 2023;168:361-371.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37419164
- Khalaf F, Hutter MF, Jeschke MG. Traversing the blaze: Uncovering the challenges in burn care for older adults. Surgery. Oct 11 2023.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37833154
- Sanchez-Espino LF, Luca N, Pope E, Laxer RM, Knight AM, Sibbald C. Systematic review of health-related quality of life impact in juvenile localized scleroderma: Health-related quality of life in juvenile localized scleroderma. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). Sep 26 2023.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37750181
- Sanchez-Espino LF, Sibbald C, Stimec J, Laxer RM, Pope E. Characteristics and onset of presentation of pediatric stiff skin syndrome: A retrospective cohort study of 11 patients in a tertiary care center. Pediatr Dermatol. Oct 20 2023.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37864376
- Khan L, Derksen T, Redmond D, Storek J, Durand C, Gniadecki R, Korman B, Cohen Tervaert JW, D’Aubeterre A, Osman MS, Willis LM. The cancer-associated glycan polysialic acid is dysregulated in systemic sclerosis and is associated with fibrosis. J Autoimmun. Sep 22 2023;140:103110.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37742510
Skin Cancer
- Blanchard M, Morren MA, Busschots AM, Hauben E, Alberti-Violetti S, Berti E, Avallone G, Tavoletti G, Panzone M, Quaglino P, Colonna C, Melchers RC, Vermeer MH, Gniadecki R, Mitteldorf C, Gosmann J, Stadler R, Jonak C, Oren-Shabtai M, Hodak E, Friedland R, Gordon E, Geskin LJ, Scarisbrick JJ, Mayo Martinez F, Noguera Morel L, Pehr K, Amarov B, Faouzi M, Nicolay JP, Kempf W, Blanchard G, Guenova E. Paediatric onset lymphomatoid papulosis: results of a multicentre retrospective cohort study, on behalf of the EORTC Cutaneous Lymphoma Tumours Group (CLTG). The British journal of dermatology. Apr 10 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38595050
- Huang Y, Fleming P, Fung K, Chan AW. Association between dermatology follow-up and melanoma survival: a population-based cohort study. J Am Acad Dermatol. Feb 16 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38368952
- Venables ZC, Gran S, Levell NJ, Yiu ZZN, Proby CM. International melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer mortality trends – is it time to re-focus our attention? Clin Exp Dermatol. Dec 7 2023.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38060677
- Seigel K, Croitoru D, Silverberg OM, Miller-Monthrope Y, Laframboise S, Joseph M. Painful plaques in a woman with recurrent squamous cell carcinoma. JAAD Case Rep. Nov 2023;41:116-118.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38022755
- Pedersen SJ, Paoli J, Gniadecki R, Glud M. Repair of Defects of the Nasal Tip After Mohs Surgery. Dermatol Pract Concept. Oct 1 2023;13(4).https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37992361
Skin of Colour
- McKenzie S, Wang J, Mora Hurtado AC, Uppal P, Taylor SC, Elbuluk N. Cosmetic injectables in skin of color: A review of uses, safety, and effectiveness of neuromodulators and dermal fillers. J Cosmet Dermatol. Mar 29 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38553836
- Salmen NL, Menage K, Baumann AN, Curtis DP, Brodell RT. Skin color reporting in squamous cell carcinoma-related randomized controlled trials in top dermatology journals: a systematic review. Arch Dermatol Res. Mar 30 2024;316(4):115.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38554241
- Gofman J, Shapiro L, Elias MD. Recognizing Flagellate Erythema in Skin of Color: A Case of Shiitake Dermatitis. Cureus. Mar 2024;16(3):e55437.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38567230
- Williams K, Yaldo M, Olds H, Moossavi M. A large exophytic plaque on the shoulder of a skin of color patient. Int J Dermatol. Apr 4 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38572509
- Shahin MM, Quach HT, Marathe KS. Pediatric Dermatology for People of Color. Pediatr Ann. Apr 2024;53(4):e146-e151.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38574070
- Hudek N, Carroll K, Semchishen S, Vanderhout S, Presseau J, Grimshaw J, Fergusson DA, Gillies K, Graham ID, Taljaard M, Brehaut JC. Describing the content of trial recruitment interventions using the TIDieR reporting checklist: a systematic methodology review. BMC Med Res Methodol. Apr 8 2024;24(1):85.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38589803
- Brijnath B, Muoio R, Feldman P, Ghersi D, Chan AW, Welch V, Treweek S, Green H, Orkin AM, Owusu-Addo E. “We are not invited”: Australian focus group results on how to improve ethnic diversity in trials. J Clin Epidemiol. Apr 15 2024:111366.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38631530
- Paller AS, Rangel SM, Chamlin SL, Hajek A, Phan S, Hogeling M, Castelo-Soccio L, Lara-Corrales I, Arkin L, Lawley LP, Funk T, Castro Porto Silva Lopes F, Antaya RJ, Ramien ML, Vivar KL, Teng J, Coughlin CC, Rehmus W, Gupta D, Bercovitch L, Stein SL, Boull C, Tom WL, Liang MG, Hunt R, Luu M, Holland KE, Schoch JJ, Cella D, Lai JS, Griffith JW, Pediatric Dermatology Research A. Stigmatization and Mental Health Impact of Chronic Pediatric Skin Disorders. JAMA Dermatol. Apr 24 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38656377
- Bieerkehazhi S, Barayan D, Khalaf F, de Brito Monteiro L, Aijaz A, Volk C, Matveev A, Saldanha S, Faour S, Jeschke MG. Burns Induce Alterations in the Acyl Proteome of Mice and Humans. Shock. Mar 15 2024.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38661185
- Martindale APL, Ng B, Ngai V, Kale AU, Ferrante di Ruffano L, Golub RM, Collins GS, Moher D, McCradden MD, Oakden-Rayner L, Rivera SC, Calvert M, Kelly CJ, Lee CS, Yau C, Chan AW, Keane PA, Beam AL, Denniston AK, Liu X. Concordance of randomised controlled trials for artificial intelligence interventions with the CONSORT-AI reporting guidelines. Nature communications. Feb 22 2024;15(1):1619.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38388497
SkIN Canada Executive Committee
