Inspiring the future of skin research with talent development & education.

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvented the way we exchange knowledge, offering unique and equitable opportunities to connect virtually and educate skin researchers and patients across Canada. As part of its talent development strategy to build capacity and engage trainees, patients and early career investigators, the Skin Investigation Network of Canada (SkIN Canada) established a Training Committee in 2020.

What is the SkIN Canada Training Committee?

The Training Committee aims to empower future generations of leaders in skin research in Canada. The committee consists of SkIN Canada members from across Canada and includes researchers, trainees and patient partners with diverse experience with and expertise in various skin conditions. The training committee hopes to empower future generations of leaders in skin research in Canada by improving educational opportunities and is committed to building capacity for skin research across Canada through training events, awards, leadership opportunities, and forums to build their professional networks and foster collaborations.

Training Committee Membership and Meetings:

The Training Committee is led by two members, one of whom is an established researcher and one an early career researcher, who will act as co-chairs of the Training Committee. Current co-chairs of the training committee are Dr. Anie Philip and Dr. Ivan V Litvinov of McGill University Health Centre. Other members include a balanced representation of patient research partners, graduate students, resident physicians, postdoctoral fellows and early- career researchers. The full members’ list can be found here. The SkIN Canada Training Committee held its first members’ meeting in early March 2021. Since then, the Committee has been working diligently to develop a strategy to support educational initiatives for trainees across Canada. As part of this effort, the Committee has developed a plan to help identify opportunities for trainee education and advocacy.

Training/Education Initiatives:

SkIN Canada Trainee Workshop 2020

The first annual SkIN Canada trainee workshop was held virtually in Nov 2020, in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Skin Research Group of Canada (SRGC 2020). The 2020 workshop had two components: “Career Building Workshop” and “Patient Engagement Workshop”. The Career Building Workshop focused on different potential career paths. This session was moderated by Dr. Anie Philip, Co-director, SkIN Canada.  Invited speakers who are at the pinnacle of their careers discussed pros and cons of their chosen career – and how they got there. Trainees were able to use this valuable information to develop strategies for choosing a specific career path and achieve the desired goal. Invited speakers for this workshop included Dr. Terence Hebert, McGill University, Dr. Aaron Drucker, University of Toronto, Dr. Jason Turpin, Health Canada, Dr. Carmela De Luca, Bereskin and Parr Montreal. The Patient Engagement Workshop was a fireside chat with patient research partners moderated by Rachael Manion, Executive Director, Canadian Skin Patient Alliance & Canadian Association of Psoriasis Patient; Chair, Patient Advisory Council & Co-director, SkIN Canada. We were very fortunate to have patient research partner panelists Dawn Richards, Christian Boisvert-Huneault and Latoya Palmer, who shared their experiences as part of different research teams. 

Full workshop details and video recordings can be viewed here.

SkIN Canada Trainee Workshop 2021

The second annual SkIN Canada trainee workshop was held from Nov 11-13, 2021 in a hybrid format with onsite and virtual participation, again jointly with the annual meeting of the SRGC 2021. The workshop 2021 had three sessions. In the “Industry Career Path workshop” moderated by Dr. Ivan V Litvinov, co-chair of SkIN Canada Training Committee, industry partners engaged trainees about opportunities and paths for a career in the pharmaceutical industry with the goal of treating skin diseases.