Dear ITSCC Members,
I hope this message finds you well and that your 2026 is off to a great start! I led my first ITSCC Board of Director’s meeting at the AAD and am truly honored to be part of such an incredible group that has been instrumental to my academic success. I am thrilled to share highlights from our recent annual meeting and some exciting news on what's ahead.
Our ITSCC Annual Meeting at the AAD in Denver, Colorado was incredible with a record turnout at The Hampton Social. This was a real team effort from Basia Michalski-McNeely, Stephanie Jackson Cullison, Katie Shahwan, and Jake Wang to organize and facilitate the meeting. A special thank you to Manisha Loss for picking the venue (after looking at more than 10!) and to Kathy Uy, ITSCC Executive Director, and the ITSCC staff, for the countless hours behind the scenes making the event possible.
This year's meeting also marked a meaningful milestone: ITSCC's 25th Anniversary! Dr. Allison Vidimos and Elizabeth Billingsley delivered an incredible tribute to where the organization started and where we are now.
Speaking of team effort, we were fortunate to welcome Dr. Justine Cohen, a Dana-Farber medical oncologist, who delivered the 2026 Oscar Colegio Memorial Lecture along with myself on "The Power of Partnership: Collaborative Approaches to Optimize Skin Cancer Outcomes." Justine was so enthralled with ITSCC that she became a member on the spot! We were also fortunate to hear from Dr. Nathalie Zeitouni, who presented updates from the literature on clinical trials inclusive of transplant and immunosuppressed patients — a reminder of how rapidly our field is evolving. A thought-provoking tumor board discussion, moderated by Dr. Aubriana McEvoy and included Dr. Theresa Medina (Medical Oncology), Dr. Fiona Zwald (Dermatology), and Dr. Ryan Lanning (Radiation Oncology), rounded out the scientific portion of the evening.
We were also pleased to share updates from the ITSCC Academic Mentorship Program (AMP), including the announcement of this year's grant recipient , Amanda Rosenthal, MD, FAAD and her project, Topical Chemotherapeutics with Immunomodulation under Systemic Immunosuppression: Field Cancerization with Combined 5-Fluorouracil and Calcipotriene for Prevention of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in Immunosuppressed, Solid Organ Transplant Recipients. The AMP continues to be one of our most impactful initiatives, providing emerging leaders in transplant dermatology with longitudinal mentorship and support — and we are proud to see it grow.
The ITSCC Biannual Symposium will be on Cathleen Stone Island near Boston, Massachusetts from September 24 to 27! If you are interested in participating, the abstract submission portal is now open through April 29!
If you haven't yet renewed your ITSCC membership for 2026, please take a moment to do so at https://itscc.execinc.com/edibo/Dues. Your support is what makes everything we do possible!
Thank you all for your continued dedication to ITSCC's mission. I wish you a wonderful spring and look forward to seeing you again in the fall.
Warm regards,
Emily Ruiz, MD MPH
ITSCC President, 2026–2028
Join us for the upcoming ITSCC Transplant Dermatology Symposium at the Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting.
Date: Thursday, May 14, 2026
Time: 7:00 – 8:15 a.m.
Location: Joliet, 3rd Floor
Hilton Chicago
720 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605
SID Meeting Registration: https://sidannualmeeting.org/registration/
Dear ITSCC Members,
I hope this message finds you well and that your 2025 is off to a fantastic start! I’m excited to share updates from the ITSCC meeting and some exciting developments on the horizon.
Our ITSCC Annual Meeting at the AAD in Orlando, Florida, was a tremendous success! We had nearly 120 members in attendance, and the event provided a wonderful opportunity to learn from Dr. Manisha Thakuria, our Oscar Colegio Memorial Lecturer, who shared valuable insights on Merkel cell carcinoma in immunosuppressed patients. A heartfelt thank you to Drs. Joi Carter and Jake Wang, as well as Kathy Uy, ITSCC Executive Director, for their tireless efforts in organizing the scientific session, securing the venue, engaging sponsors, and so much more. The evening concluded with a private bowling afterparty, generously sponsored by CASTLE and Skin Cancer Champions—a perfect way to kick off the AAD meeting while reconnecting with colleagues and friends.
In addition to our educational sessions, we celebrated the graduation of our first-ever ITSCC Academic Mentorship Program (AMP) Cohort. Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Crow (mentored by Dr. Nathalie Zeitouni), Dr. Basia Michalski-McNeely (mentored by Dr. Manisha Loss), and Dr. Kelsey Hirotsu (mentored by Dr. Bryan Carroll) for completing this prestigious two-year program. The AMP provides invaluable longitudinal guidance from seasoned transplant dermatologists, offering a stipend to attend the ITSCC Biennial Symposium in Essex, Massachusetts, as well as an immersive weeklong mentorship experience. We also welcomed our new AMP class: Dr. Stephanie Jackson Cullison (paired with Dr. Chrys Schmults) and Dr. Amanda Rosenthal (paired with Dr. Allison Vidimos). We are thrilled to see these emerging leaders in transplant dermatology grow over the next two years with the support of their mentors.
The annual meeting is also a time for many members to renew their ITSCC membership. If you haven’t renewed for 2025, please take a moment to do so by visiting https://itscc.execinc.com/edibo/Dues.
Our social media team continues to make strides in amplifying our patient-focused messaging and physician-level content. We’re also fostering important collaborations with immunosuppression and transplant groups to raise awareness about skin cancer risk in high-risk populations. If you haven’t already, please follow us on social media: @itscc_org (Instagram), International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative (Facebook), @ITSCC_Org (X/Twitter), and @ITSCCsocial (TikTok).
Thank you all for your unwavering support of the ITSCC’s mission to care for some of the most complex and vulnerable patients. I wish you a wonderful spring and look forward to reconnecting with you in the fall.
Warm regards,
Anokhi Jambusaria-Pahlajani
ITSCC President (2024-26)
Dear ITSCC Members,
I hope everyone had a great summer! I want to update everyone with all of the ITSCC happenings since our last newsletter and exciting updates for the months ahead.
The ITSCC Biennial Symposium was a great success! I would like to thank Dr. Melodi Whitley for putting together a fantastic scientific program and Dr. Catherine Pisano for all the social fun! We had two fantastic co-keynote speakers who talked to us about use of immunotherapy in transplant patients, heard from our members about their cutting edge research that will help take care of our transplant patients, and the younger attendees soaked in the wisdom of our more senior ITSCC faculty at our roundtables discussion. Our evenings were filled with a fun social program- dressing up from our birth decade for our Decades Party, learning some fun hip-hop moves, and playing glow in the dark kickball in the rain!
Our ITSCC Academic Mentorship Program (IAMP) continues to be popular with our trainees and junior dermatology colleagues. This two-year formal mentorship program accepts two applicants each year, pairs them up with a seasoned transplant dermatology mentor, and includes funding for an in-person mentorship experience as well as registration for the ITSCC biennial symposium. Applications are open thru December 15 for prospective mentors and mentees and you can learn more about the program here.
We are on the hunt for 2 new general board of director members as well as a secretary. Serving on the board allows you to build your leadership skills and shape the future of ITSCC. Plus we’re really a fun bunch of people to be around. If you are interested in applying to serve on the board, please go here for the application. Self-nominations are due December 16.
Our awesome social media team continues to work hard to increase patient-focused messaging, physician-level content, and partnership with related immunosuppression and transplant groups to educate our followers and increase awareness for skin cancer development in high-risk groups. If you haven't followed us yet, please check us out @itscc_org (IG), @International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative (FB), @ITSCC_Org (X/Twitter) and our TikTok @ITSCCsocial.
Thank you to you all for supporting ITSCC’s mission to take care of some of our sickest and most vulnerable patients. I hope you have a healthy and happy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all at our annual meeting during the AAD in Orlando in March (more info to come soon!).
Sincerely,
Anokhi Jambusaria-Pahlajani
ITSCC President (2024-26)
Nominations are now being accepted for the two Director positions and one Secretary position that will be open on the ITSCC Board of Directors.
For additional information and the link to the nomination submission form, visit the Board Nominations page.
ITSCC Academic Mentorship Program
The International Immunosuppression & Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative (ITSCC) Academic Mentorship Program (IAMP) is designed to connect junior members of ITSCC early in their academic careers with established senior members to build relationships and assist in career development. This is a 2-year mentorship program that will run from the ITSCC annual meeting (March) of the year the program starts to the annual meeting of the program end.
Please see the links below for the timeline, application and program details.
ITSCC thanks The Charles T. Bauer Charitable Foundation for its generous donation in support of the Academic Mentorship Program.
October: Mentor/Mentee Applications Open
December 15: Applications Due
December-January: Applicant Review Selection/Matching
February: Applicant Selection/Matching
March 26, 2026: 2026-2028 Mentorship Cohort announced at ITSCC Annual Membership Meeting in Denver, CO.
Mentee Requirements (2-year commitment - March 2026-February 2028)
Mentee Application Information
Mentor Requirements (2-year commitment - March 2026-February 2028)
Mentor Application Information
The ITSCC Academic Mentorship Program (IAMP) has made many exciting strides since launching in 2023. The inaugural cohort (Drs. Lauren Crow, Kelsey Hirotsu, and Basia Michalski-McNeely and mentors Drs. Nathalie Zeitouni, Bryan Carroll, and Manisha Loss) completed the program in March 2025.
We welcomed our second cohort into the program (Drs. Ami Green and Annika Weinhammer and mentors Drs. Melissa Pugliano-Mauro and Sean Christensen) in March 2024.
Mentors and mentees have engaged in quarterly meetings with topics including database utilization, research pearls, and working with industry from leaders in the field. The discussions during these meetings have been interactive and vibrant, and participants have enjoyed the opportunity to learn from and relate to one another’s experiences. Mentees also attended the in-person ITSCC Biennial Symposium filled with education and networking, as well as had the opportunity to present on panel sessions at national meetings including AAD.
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Dr. Allison Vidimos
Dr. Stephanie Cullison
Dr. Chrys Schmults
Dr. Melissa Pugliano-Mauro
Dr. Annika Weinhammer
Dr. Sean Christensen
Dr. Nathalie Zeitouni
Dr. Kelsey Hirotsu
Dr. Bryan Carroll
Dr. Basia Michalski-McNeely
Dr. Manisha Loss