Edinburgh Skin Network holds first symposium

14 Jun 2023

Ed-SKIN has held its first symposium in Edinburgh. Ed-SKIN was formed to bring people together to better understand skin health, disease and personal care. It is a passionate, multi-disciplinary collaboration between leading biomedical scientists, dermatologists, engineers, vets, physicists and technology and innovation specialists united by the goal of accelerating next generation skincare. 

The first Ed-SKIN symposium was an interdisciplinary networking event was held at the Playfair Library on 8th June. The event showcased the pioneering skin research being undertaken across Edinburgh institutes, complemented by keynote talks provided by Prof John McGrath (Kings College London) and Dr Ben Almquist (Imperial College London). 

Around 1.9 billion people, almost a third of the world’s population, are affected by over 3,000 skin diseases. Leading culprits are eczema, wounds, psoriasis and skin cancers. Skin diseases can therefore have a profound impact on an individuals’ mental and physical well-being.  

When the idea for Ed-SKIN arose back in 2020, I never imagined that it would develop into such a rich and enthusiastic interdisciplinary network. It is incredibly exciting seeing how Ed-SKIN is growing and stimulating new collaborations and a sense of community within the skin research field at Edinburgh. We have over 80 members now, spanning all University of Edinburgh campuses, Heriot Watt University and NHS Lothian

Winner of best early career researcher (ECR) talk prize was Dr Jana Travnickova (Postdoc, Prof Liz Patton's Lab at the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the MRC Institute for Genetics and Cancer). Winner of best poster prize was Abigail Elliot (PhD student, Dr Yi Feng's Lab at the Centre for Inflammation Research in IRR).