Dermatologists from all over Australia are ready to hit Sydney for the annual national conference.
About 1300 delegates are preparing to descend on Sydney next week for what is shaping up to be the biggest Australian dermatology conference in years.
The Australasian College of Dermatology will hold its 55th Annual Scientific Meeting at Sydney’s International Convention Centre from 27 to 29 May.
The conference theme this year will be “Engage-Enhance-Elevate”, which aims to encapsulate the concept of collaboration, inclusiveness, diversity and the commitment to championing high standards and professionalism as individuals and a collective.
This year will bring some new additions to the program, including plenary sessions on ophthalmology and dermatology, transgender medicine, and the closing plenary titled “Really Important Stuff You Need to Know”.
Other topics to be discussed include latest developments in dermatology, new drugs, the use of AI in dermatology, targeted therapies, and current and future controversies in the specialty.
There will also be sessions on cosmetic dermatology, paediatric adolescent dermatology, acne, genital dermatology, keratinocyte cancer, biologics and psoriasis, pathology, and ethics and professionalism.
Professor Ian Hickie, co-director of health and policy at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre will be guest speaker at the graduation and awards ceremony, where 37 new fellows, including IMGs, will be welcomed.
College president Dr Clare Tait will also officially hand over the reins to D Adriene Lee, a Sydney-based dermatologist with a special interest in contact dermatitis.
The college’s Meetings and Events Oversight Group chair, Clinical Professor Gayle Fischer, told Dermatology Republic the conference was going to be big this year after years of covid restrictions.
She said one of the things the college took away from last year’s conference survey was members’ interest in looking at the overlaps between dermatology and other specialties, in particular ophthalmology, rheumatology and immunology.
“We are having Professor Peter McCroskey, who’s an Australian expert, come to speak on ophthalmology and dermatology, and that will be a highlight,” Professor Fischer said.
She will also chair a plenary session on transgender medicine.
“I think it’s something we have to embrace,” she said.
“This is really an emerging field, and we have some great speakers. I’m going to be giving a short talk on genital issues in transgender patients. And we have another fabulous speaker from Perth who has been very involved in transgender medicine who really has an understanding of it, so I think it will be a fantastic session.”
Skin of colour was another topic that would be of great interest, she said.
“That’s also a great and emerging field, and we’ve got [Dr] Michelle Rodrigues, who is very passionate about that and has been organising that session,” Professor Fischer said.
Registration is still open for the conference, and delegates are welcome to attend for the whole meeting or just one day.
For more information about the ACD ASM 55 see here.
