| EDF Newsletter 2026

The 30th EDF Annual Meeting takes place on January 21-23, 2027, as a face-to-face meeting in the Hotel Suisse Majestic in Montreux, Switzerland. The program starts with our traditional plenary guest lectures. This year Prof. Agnes Klar from the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, will speak about “3D-printed human skin substitutes: From robotic ‘SkinFactory’ to real patients”, followed by a lecture on “war dermatology: Skin disease, trauma and public health challenges in conflict settings” presented by Dr. Valeska Padovese from the Genitourinary Clinic, Mater Dei Hospital, Malta. Further plenary lectures will follow on Friday afternoon with Dr. Roberta Vasconcelos-Berg (University Hospital Basel – Margarethenklinik) and Prof. Alex Miras (Ulster University, Belfast) on the joint topic ““Ozempic” face and beyond: The truth about GLP-1 agonists from skin to metabolism” and Prof. Tamar Nijsten, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, focusing on “longevity dermatology: Skin aging, regeneration and the future of human appearance”. Two well-established highlights will be our interactive forums. The first interactive forum on “TEACHING”, chaired by Prof. Kaisa Tasanen-Määttä and Prof. Ana-Maria Forsea, will include Prof. Aimilios Lallas discussing “how to teach clinical dermoscopy in 2027: Structure, patterns, pitfalls”, Prof. Art Papier who will look into the “from Atlases to AI and Augmented Intelligence: How will we teach and practice dermatology in 2030”, Prof. Michael Geiges talking about “from moulages to multimedia: How dermatology teaching has transformed over a century”, and Prof. Cord Sunderkötter providing a talk on “teaching classical dermatology: Foundations, occlusion, Unna boot and topical therapy”. The second interactive forum, chaired by Prof. Charlotta Enerbäck and Prof. Alexander Stratigos, will be focusing on a variety of topics – “MIXED BAG”. Prof. Enno Schmidt will speak about “precision autoantibody profiling in autoimmune blistering diseases”, Prof. John Common will discuss “skin microbiome diagnostics: Clinical relevance in inflammatory skin disease”, and Prof. Markus Vincent Starink will focus his topic on “The diagnostic hot seat: When common diseases behave strangely”.

Additional talks in this session will include “Your much-needed update in genodermatoses: What every senior dermatologist should know in 2027” discussed by Prof. Cristina Has, Prof. László Fónyad focusing on “digital pathology: From glass to insight”, and “plastic surgery: Lymphatic Reconstructive surgery in primary and secondary lymphedema” presented by Prof. Nicole Lindenblatt.

The program will be complemented by industry symposia and updates from the commissions groups. We can certainly look forward to interesting and interactive discussions on these stimulating topics. 

Prof. Miklós Sárdy, Prof. Alexander Navarini and Prof. Michael Schön at the EDF Annual Meeting 2026

| Physician Scientist Fellowship Program

As of this year, EDF supports a new Physician Scientist Fellowship Program across Europe in collaboration with Prof. Michel Gilliet, CHUV Lausanne, and the Skin Science Foundation (SSF). This program aims to equip physician scientists with cutting-edge techniques in translational research, new technologies, and Big Data Science through immersive training programs at specialized centers in Europe. 2-3 physician scientists will be able to complete a fellowship program (3-6 months) at translational research labs focusing on precision medicine to enhance knowledge exchange between labs across Europe in regard to methods for patient’s stratification. If you are interested to support this initiative as hosting center, please contact the EDF office (nadine-estelle.abea@usz.ch). 

| EDF EUROPEAN GUIDELINES

Since the establishment of a high-quality methodological standard within the EuroGuiDerm program in 2018, the EDF has continued to support the development of methodologically robust, clinically relevant and practical European dermatology guidelines. The program aims to address diseases with high clinical need and rapidly evolving therapeutic landscapes. Its guidelines are based on systematically identified and critically appraised evidence, transparent consensus processes, and expert synthesis according to internationally accepted methodological standards. Over the last months, the EDF European guideline activity has focused on maintaining and updating key guidelines in inflammatory and immune-mediated skin diseases, while also expanding the scope of future guideline activities.

A central area of activity has been the continued development of the European psoriasis guideline. The guideline is now maintained through targeted updates of specific subchapters where high clinical or methodological need is identified. Priority areas were defined through an online survey among EDF members, followed by discussion and agreement within the expert group at a kick-off meeting. The current main focus is the update of recommendations on screening and management of patients with latent tuberculosis before and during systemic psoriasis treatment. Further planned work includes adjustment of the chapters on systemic therapy, including integration of the updated Cochrane review as part of a living guideline approach to systemic treatment. In addition, the treatment of psoriasis patients with a history of, or current, malignancy has been prioritized as a future key clinical question after completion of the tuberculosis-related update.

The EuroGuiDerm atopic eczema guideline has continued to be maintained as a living guideline, enabling timely integration of new evidence and newly available systemic therapies. This living guideline approach is particularly important in atopic eczema, where the therapeutic landscape has changed rapidly in recent years. A major planned development is the incorporation of a dedicated treat-to-target framework. The planned work includes meta-analytic modelling of time to onset of action of systemic treatments, consensus on treatment targets and switching criteria, and incorporation of the resulting framework into the general guideline recommendations.

Another major output of the EDF/EuroGuiDerm guideline activity was the update and publication of the international urticaria guideline. This guideline provides recommendations for the definition, classification, diagnosis and management of urticaria and reflects broad international collaboration. It supports harmonized care for patients with acute and chronic urticaria, including chronic spontaneous and chronic inducible forms, and strengthens the role of EuroGuiDerm as a partner in high-impact, methodologically sound and clinically useful guideline development.

The EuroGuiDerm acne guideline has also been updated and published. This update focused on highly practice-relevant questions, including the role of isotretinoin compared with systemic antibiotics, the appropriate duration of systemic antibiotic therapy, hormonal treatments including spironolactone, and the positioning of newer topical agents such as trifarotene and clascoterone.

Future EDF European guideline activities will continue to focus on maintaining high methodological standards, timely updates in areas of rapid therapeutic development, and practical implementation across Europe.

We would also encourage other EDF members with an interest in guidelines, who would like to actively participate in this project, to get in touch with the EDF office.

To maintain and promote high quality education and training, the EDF successfully supports an undergraduate online teaching program with over 60’000 users worldwide (mainly dermatologists, venereologists and GP): Cyberderm (Dermatology Online with Interactive Technology) developed by Prof. Günter Burg and operated by Prof. Alexander Navarini and Vahid Djamei. www.cyberderm.net

In 2025, a new edition of the “Dermatology Cyberderm WebBook” was published in collaboration with Erasmus+ and the International League of Dermatology (ILDS), specifically tailored for healthcare professionals. This version features an image gallery, with all images labeled with ICD-11 codes and categorized by Fitzpatrick skin types. Additionally, Cyberderm created a designated section for frontline health workers in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO). www.ilds.cyberderm.net

Geneskin is a comprehensive online database and website dedicated to rare genetic diseases of the skin (genodermatoses). This platform is designed to enhance the diagnosis, treatment, and management of these conditions by providing cutting-edge information to patients, their families, and healthcare professionals.

Currently, Geneskin offers in-depth knowledge on a broad spectrum of rare genetic skin disorders, including Ectodermal Dysplasias, Connective Tissue Diseases, Epithelial Adhesion Disorders, and DNA Repair Disorders. Main efforts in 2026 include: Updates of the „diseases“ section (patient information); update of clinical trials (under professional information); inclusion of new, recently described genodermatoses, cutaneous mosaic disorders, neurocutaneous disorders and complex vascular malformations; inclusion of disease guidelines; continuous update of specialized centers and patient organizations (addresses and contact information).

Overseen by a European Dermatology Forum (EDF) steering committee led by Prof. Johann Bauer, the website is regularly updated to reflect the latest research and treatment advances. Explore more: www.geneskin.org.