2021 Annual Conference

The 2021 PeDRA Annual Conference will take place virtually October 14-15, 2021. Conference organizers were closely monitoring the COVID-19 public health emergency and made the difficult decision to make the conference fully virtual in April.

Highlights

• Building Bridges – Plenary sessions will help attendees develop collaborative research projects by showcasing successful collaborations with industry, patient advocacy, and basic and translational scientists.
• Diversity and Inclusion in Research – This year’s keynote session will feature a special presentation from renowned advocate for social justice Dorothy Roberts, JD from the University of Pennsylvania.
• Finding Your Career Happy Place: Thriving, Not Just Surviving – The 2021 Early Investigator Forum will focus on strengthening the skills of early career investigators in the field on the morning of Friday, October 15.  
• Inaugural NextGen Research Forum – Giving students and recent graduates the chance to present research and gain valuable career guidance.
• Finding a Problem Worth Solving – A special session will leverage information learned from the 2019 PeDRA Annual Conference and the interim work of PeDRA investigators to highlight problem-based research and innovation in pediatric dermatology.
• Breakout Sessions – Bringing together Focused Study Groups and project teams to discuss new and ongoing collaborative research studies. 
• Digital Poster Forum supported by Timber Pharmaceuticals – Featuring digital posters and an on-demand highlight reel of abstracts selected for brief oral presentations. Digital posters will be discussed during the 2021 Poster Pub Crawl.
• Patient Engagement activities including the 2nd Camp Wonder at PeDRA being hosted by the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation, giving patient stakeholders and scientists the chance to connect to make an impact on pediatric dermatology research.
• Virtual Partner Exhibits – Giving patient groups and industry partners the chance to share resources and connect with attendees.

VIEW THE FULL PRELIMINARY AGENDA

Conference Co-Chairs

Co-Chairs plan the PeDRA Annual Conference with critical leadership and support from the PeDRA Meetings Committee

Registration

Category	Early (through Sept. 20)	Late (through Oct. 8)	Session Recordings Only (available after conference)
Trainee Member	Free	$15	Free
Active or Affiliate Member	$100	$125	$50
Patient stakeholders	Free	$15	Free
Non-Member	$150	$200	$75
Industry Representative	$300	$350	$150

Abstracts and Posters

Abstracts for consideration as posters in the Digital Poster Forum are NOW BEING ACCEPTED with a deadline of Tuesday, August 24. Click here for abstract submission guidelines or send us an email with any questions.

Special Events

NextGen Research Forum – This new activity is a networking opportunity for students and research fellows and will be co-chaired by Keith Choate, MD, PhD of Yale University and Lara Wine Lee, MD, PhD of the Medical University of South Carolina, along with other faculty moderators.
The Forum will include a virtual panel discussion on the evening of Thursday, October 14 and a virtual session on the morning of Friday, October 15. The session will feature peer-reviewed oral presentations from selected trainee abstracts and the opportunity for all trainees to give 2-minute presentations on a digital poster or project pitch in a small group setting. To be eligible for participation in the NextGen Research Forum individuals must be Trainee Members of PeDRA, registered for the PeDRA Annual Conference, and either currently enrolled in an accredited medical and/or graduate school program or a recent graduate prior to the start of dermatology residency. Priority consideration will be given to participants who have a project for presentation during the Forum, as either an abstract submitted to the Digital Poster Forum or other project proposal. Applications to the NextGen Research Forum are NOW BEING ACCEPTED with a deadline of Monday, September 20. APPLY NOW!

Poster Pub Crawl – This special networking event will take place from 5:45-6:30PM ET on Thursday, October 14, just after the conclusion of the keynote session. Attendees will be encouraged to grab a drink and then meet in breakout rooms to view digital posters together. Each group will have 10-15 attendees and two established PeDRA investigators to moderate and guide the discussion. Interested attendees must sign up for the Pub Crawl during conference registration before September 20.

Camp Wonder at PeDRA – This FREE, kids-only event is being run through a special partnership with the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation (CSDF) . Pediatric patients whose parents are attending the conference can join for 90 minutes of games, sing-alongs, and other fun virtual activities. The folks at CSDF have been running the full Camp Wonder since 2021 as a week-long escape for children with chronic and life-threatening skin diseases to take a break from being a patient and focus on being a kid. They are experts at creating fun for children and PeDRA is proud to welcome them back to this year’s conference. Parents or adult caregivers should sign children up for Camp Wonder when registering for the Annual Conference.

Project Discussions

Virtual breakout sessions will be held on the afternoon of Friday, October 15 as venues to discuss new or ongoing collaborative research projects. Please note that virtual breakout sessions will not be used for presentations of final results. Requests to discuss projects during a virtual breakout session are NOW BEING ACCEPTED with a deadline of Monday, September 20.

Partnering

View the 2021 PeDRA Annual Conference prospectus to learn about industry and advocacy participation and sponsorship opportunities at this year’s conference. The virtual format is expected to broaden the audience at this year’s conference and offers exciting ways to be involved.

Past Conferences

To learn more about previous annual conferences click here.

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Last updated August 4, 2021