Category Archives: Elaine Fuchs

Angela Christiano, Elaine Fuchs, George Cotsarelis, Kevin McElwee, World Congress of Dermatology

23rd World Congress of Dermatology: Vancouver, Canada

8 Comments
23rd World Congress of Dermatology.
23rd World Congress of Dermatology.

23rd World Congress of Dermatology

The 23rd World Congress of Dermatology starts on June 8, 2015 and will run through June 13, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. It is run by the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS). The ILDS is an umbrella organisation for professional dermatology organisations of all sizes around the world. You can follow their Twitter account for conference updates.

I was not paying too much attention to this conference before. When I first browsed through their website some time ago, it seemed like most of the subjects would be non-hair related.

However, when I went through their website in more detail today, I noticed that the Congress President was a hair transplant surgeon by the name of Dr. Jerry Shapiro. More importantly, one of the main (plenary) sessions will be presented by the esteemed Dr. Elaine Fuchs, who I have discussed a few times on this blog before. Amond the main sponsors includes L’Oréal and Allergan.

There is a workshop on hair biology on Tuesday that will be led by the renowned Dr. George Cotsarelis, Replicel’s scientist Dr. Kevin McElwee and Dr. Amos Gilhar of Israel. This might end up being the most interesting part of the conference for blog readers.

There is an interesting presentation on the neglected field of ethnic hair disorders by South African professor Nonhlanhla Khumalo. Lebanese doctor Mazen Kurban (who has co-authored a book chapter with Dr. Angela Christiano in the past) will present on genetic hair and nail disorders.

Other presentations of interest include: one on hair disorders; one on hair transplants; one on telogen effluvium; and one on cicatricial alopecias. Several of the laser light therapy related presentations will hopefully also discuss their increase use for regrowing scalp hair. Like FDA cleared devices such as the HairMax Lasercomb for example.

Biohacking, CRISPR, DIYbio, Elaine Fuchs, Gene Modification, Psoriasis, Senolytics, Sox9, Synthetic Biology

Sox9 and the Hair Follicle and Biohacking

5 Comments

Sox9 and the Hair Follicle

— An interesting paper (with Elaine Fuchs as a co-author) on how hair follicle stem cells have a strong sense of identity even after being taken out of their home in the hair follicle and then cultured. The Sox9 protein is the “pioneering factor” in all this.

— The coming age of senolytics. I like to say “coming age of…” a lot these days, and it seems like I am far from the only one. A great article was published last month on Novartis’s push for the first ever anti-aging pill. Make sure to also read my past posts on anti-aging.

— New treatment targeting interleukin-23 could be a break-through in the treatment of psoriasis. Note that interleukin-6 has been associated with hair loss and I might write a post on that in the near future.

— Apparently, all brown eyes can be changed to blue eyes. I have brown ones and will only change them if they can figure how to make them green or golden.

— The world’s first penis transplant, if you discount an earlier one done in China a few years ago that was not entirely successful. Finding a donor is not so easy though.

Biohacking and CRISPR

— An interesting new video on out of control biohacking and its dangers. If you have a DIYbio branch near you, probably worth a visit.

— Also see biohacking and DNA modification in someone’s home. The era of synthetic biology scares and excites people at the same time. Some person will sooner or later purposely create highly destructive organisms.

— Scientists warn against editing embryos. More on “DNA Scissors” and CRISPR here. A great new article on engineering the perfect baby. I think a perfect baby is one that never poops or cries, but I doubt that dream will ever be realized.