Vincent Piguet MD, PhD,FRCPScientist, Women’s College Research Institute
Professor and Director of the Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
Head of Dermatology, Women’s College Hospital
Professor Vincent Piguet MD, PhD, FRCP, trained at the School of Medicine, University of Geneva and graduated in 1995. He spent two years doing research in virology and immunology at the Salk Institute in San Diego, USA. He obtained his MD and PhD (2000/2001) and his specialist certification in Dermatology & Venereology (2004) from the Swiss Medical Association. He obtained Swiss National Science Foundation Assistant Professorship (2003) and was Associate Professor at University of Geneva (2009). He was appointed Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology and Wound Healing at Cardiff University, Wales, UK (2010). He obtained UK certification in Dermatology (2011) and in 2014 became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. In 2011 he was appointed Director of the Institute of Infection and Immunity at Cardiff University. In 2017, he was appointed as Full Professor and Department Division Director of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto and Division Head of Dermatology, Women’s College Hospital, Toronto.
Professor Piguet has authored over 230 publications in the fields of dermatology and virology in top journals including Cell, Immunity, The Lancet and Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He has received numerous grants to further his research in the areas of HIV, psoriasis, melanoma and immunology. Professor Piguet has given more than 150 lectures at national and international meetings, including at the World Congress of Dermatology and HIV Keystone meetings. He is on the editorial boards of several journals, including the British Journal of Dermatology and is deputy editor for the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He is the Past-President of the European Society for Dermatological Research and past President-Elect of the European Dermatology Forum, and in 2017 was honoured with membership of the Academia Europaea.
Heather Anne TalpaHeather Talpa is a 35-year-old patient residing in London, Ontario. After a new family doctor suggested weight loss as her only treatment option, Heather was left feeling discouraged and ashamed and did not seek medical help for the next five years until it reached the point of stage 3 where her only treatment option was surgery. Her gynecologist had deemed it the “most horrific” case of HS she had ever seen. Heather spent 45 days in the hospital at the start of 2020 for a complete reconstructive groin surgery performed by an experienced Plastic Surgeon. She has also had surgery in both armpits. She is extremely grateful for the compassion shown by her surgeon and his team and is enjoying the freedom that comes with not living in pain anymore. Heather dealt with the repercussions of this painful and disfiguring disease not only on a physical level, but on a mental, emotional and spiritual level. Her life-shattering experience with HS as a single woman with her entire life ahead of her took her on an inner quest to find peace and acceptance in her situation. In 2016, Heather published her first book “The Lighthouse: A Journey Through 365 Days of Self-Love” and she is currently writing her second novel “Telepathy Between Hearts”. Heather has previously served as Board Member and Story Editor for the organization HS Heroes.
Key points of presentation:
Ilya Mukovozov MD, PhDResident Physician
Department of Dermatology and Skin Science
University of British Columbia
Ilya Mukovozov is currently a 4th year Dermatology Resident at the University of British Columbia. He completed the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours Program at McMaster University (2004-2008), and a Master’s degree in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto (2008-2010). He conducted his Master’s research in the Cell Biology Department at SickKids, with a focus on characterizing inflammatory pathways and mechanisms of neutrophil recruitment to sites of inflammation.
Ilya completed medical school at the University of Toronto, as part of a combined MD/PhD program (2010-2018). He defended his PhD thesis on monocyte recruitment to vascular lesions and macrophage foam cell formation in October 2015. His graduate work utilized in vitro functional assays and in vivo models to investigate leukocyte recruitment.
Summary of presentation:
Brief review of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) pathogenesis
Summarize available data on light- and laser-based treatment modalities for HS
Light-based treatments are beneficial in both early and advanced disease
Laser devices and photodynamic therapy have moderate response rates for patients with HS, however access to the technology and impractical treatment delivery may be a barrier
Adverse events are not uncommon with light therapy and patients should be counseled on these risks
The mechanisms of light-based treatments for HS are not well understood, but may include removal of epithelial sinus tracts which may contain debris and bacteria that can lead to relapse, and alteration of the local inflammatory cytokine milieu.
