Fondation René Touraine - International Foundation for Dermatology

27/07/2026

Summer is here, and the entire René Touraine Foundation team is taking a well-deserved break.

We're pausing our publications for a few weeks. A chance to recharge, but also to prepare a September full of new projects for skin disease research & patient care.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your loyalty and your commitment by our side throughout the year.

We'll see you again in September. Until then, take care and make the most of the summer. ☀️

24/07/2026

Spotlight on ISAD, the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis affects millions of people worldwide, and the community working on it has a long history. It goes back to 1979, when Norwegian dermatologist Georg Rajka gathered a handful of colleagues in Oslo for the very first international meeting on the disease. What started as an invitation list became a tradition.

That tradition became a society in June 2012, founded in Verona during the EADV Spring Symposium. Today ISAD brings together more than 160 members across 54 countries.

Its mission is clear: advancing clinical care, research, education and training in atopic dermatitis, while acting as an advocate alongside patient groups.

Three areas stand out to us:

🔬 Research fellowships, with three to six months of support for early career scientists
📋 Active involvement of members in national and regional AD guidelines
🎓 Therapeutic education through the OPENED dermatology task force, an official initiative since 2018

The next milestone is the 16th Georg Rajka International Symposium, held in Beijing from 17 to 19 October 2026, with a dedicated session for early career professionals. Augsburg follows in 2027, then Santiago de Chile in 2028.

Nearly fifty years after Oslo, the conversation Georg Rajka started is still going strong.

👉 https://isad.org/

24/07/2026

22/07/2026

If you are a patient suffering from psoriasis and you leave in one of theses countries Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Germany, Switzerland or UK, then we encourage you to participate to the HIPPOCRATES prospective Observational Study (HPOS).

See below👇🏼

20/07/2026

👩‍🔬Some research careers are built on a single question that refuses to let go.
For Dr. Najidh, that question is cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a rare cancer that affects between 5 and 10 people per million each year, and for which treatment options remain painfully limited.

Trained at Leiden University, where she earned her medical degree and a master's in biomedical sciences, she joined the Department of Dermatology of University Medical Center as a PhD candidate. There, under the supervision of Prof. Maarten Vermeer, she worked on identifying new immunophenotypic and molecular biomarkers for CTCL patients. Her work on improved Sézary cell detection was published in Blood in 2021.

That same year, the René Touraine Foundation supported her long fellowship at Stanford Cancer Institute: "Exploring (epi)genetic mechanisms underlying therapy resistance in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma." The idea was to understand why so many patients relapse after mogamulizumab, and to bridge two of the world's leading cutaneous lymphoma centers, Leiden and Stanford.

Five years later, the bridge holds. At the 6th World Congress on Cutaneous Lymphoma in Montréal, she presented her work on T-cell clonality in CTCL alongside the Stanford team of Prof. Youn Kim and Dr. Michael Khodadoust. She was also this year's recipient of the American Society of Hematology Young Investigator Award, given to a researcher whose cutaneous lymphoma research has been accepted as an ASH abstract.

Research and care, side by side. That is exactly the spirit our foundation wants to support. 🔬

17/07/2026

☀️ July is UV Safety Month, and also Hyperpigmentation & Melasma Awareness Month.

Two occasions, one skin. Both remind us how much our largest organ depends on the choices we make every single day.

UV rays remain the leading cause of premature skin ageing and skin cancers. Yet the damage builds silently, one exposure after another, long before it ever becomes visible.

Melasma and hyperpigmentation tell a similar story. These conditions go far beyond aesthetics. They affect confidence, daily life and mental wellbeing, and they often prove stubborn to treat. Sun exposure is one of their main triggers, which places prevention at the heart of the matter.

The message stays simple and timeless. Protect your skin. Seek shade during peak hours. Wear a broad spectrum sunscreen. Cover up. And never underestimate what a hat and a bit of common sense achieve over a lifetime.

At Fondation René Touraine, we support the researchers and clinicians working to better understand pigmentation disorders and to improve care for patients worldwide.

Your skin carries your whole life. Treat it accordingly. 🌿

15/07/2026

For several years, our network on rare skin diseases has brought together experts to discuss difficult clinical cases.

Thanks to the support of , our secure tele-expertise platform is now open to the entire international medical community. A dermatologist facing a rare, severe or unexplained case, wherever they practice, can seek the opinion of specialists from the network in just a few clicks.

This tool is designed to improve diagnosis and management of many patients living with rare conditions.

The platform meets the highest standards of health data security and confidentiality, in line with General Data Protection Regulation, with systematic patient consent and certified hosting.

Are you a physician and would like to submit a rare and complex case? Find it here: omnidoc.fr/fondation-rene-touraine

Please note that during the summer period, response times may be longer. Our network of experts will resume full activity from September.

Omnidoc encourage la collaboration médicale en facilitant et rémunérant les échanges entre professionnels de santé. Disponible depuis l'entrée de la téléexpertise dans la nomenclature, la plateforme permet aux médecins et à tous les professionnels de santé d'échanger facilement des avis ...

13/07/2026

Save the date! The Fondation René Touraine returns to the two major European dermatology congresses of 2026.

There is a tradition we hold dear. Every year since 2004 at ESDR, and since 2012 at EADV, the Foundation hosts its own lecture within these gatherings. Two decades of bringing leading voices to the stage. In 2026, we are proud to continue it.

First stop, Heidelberg.
Congress 2026, the 55th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research, runs from September 9 to 12. Our FRT lecture takes place on September 12, from 10:00 to 10:30 AM.
Speaker: Klara Mosterd (Maastricht, Netherlands)
Topic: "Cut the knife! Different pathways towards less invasive skin cancer care"

Then, Vienna.org Congress 2026, hosted by the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, runs from September 30 to October 3. Our FRT lecture takes place on October 3, from 12:00 to 12:30 PM.
Speaker: Michel Gilliet (Lausanne, Switzerland)
Topic: "Personalized treatment for skin IMIDs"

Mark your calendars.
Our foundation warmly thanks the guest speakers for accepting our invite.

10/07/2026

This week, the global psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis community gathers in Lisbon.

The 2026 GRAPPA Annual Meeting and Trainee Symposium runs from July 9 to 11 at the Corinthia Lisbon. Three days bringing together rheumatologists, dermatologists, radiologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, and patient research partners around one shared goal: advancing research and education in psoriatic disease.

The response has been remarkable. In-person registration filled up and closed early, and the meeting counts more than 430 attendees across in-person and virtual formats.

The program covers a lot of ground. An ultrasound workshop on entheseal assessment opened the sessions. The Collaborative Research Network met over Friday and Saturday morning. And every session is being live-streamed, recorded, and made available on demand for registered participants around the world.

Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis - GRAPPA gathers more than 1,000 thought leaders committed to better understanding and treating psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Meetings like this one keep that momentum going.

At the Fondation René Touraine, we follow this work closely. Progress in dermatology depends on exactly this kind of international, cross-disciplinary collaboration.

To everyone in Lisbon this week: have an excellent meeting.

09/07/2026

🎬 Introducing SPIN Offs: our new series of short educational content !

We're excited to launch SPIN Offs, a fresh format designed to make expert knowledge on chronic inflammatory skin diseases easier to access than ever.

The idea is simple. Short, dynamic videos on hot topics in the field, delivered by leading experts. No hour-long commitment, just sharp and up-to-date insights you can watch anytime.

For this very first episode, we're honoured to feature Dr. Sergio Vañó Galván, Head of the Hair Disorders Unit at Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal in Madrid and President of the European Hair Research Society. He's one of the most respected voices in alopecia areata worldwide.

We're delighted that Dr. Vañó Galván joined our action SPIN this year as an expert member, and we warmly thank him for his contribution to this new programme. 🙏

Stay tuned for our next short in September!