As you may have seen from recent member communiqués in your email inbox and on our SOCS social media platforms, we are currently in the height of “open season” for applications for some exciting opportunities for SOCS members that help support and advance skin of color dermatology research and career development.(Details about both of these award programs can be accessed here;  please note that application deadlines are approaching on September 30).

We are very proud of the fact that with this new Awards cycle for 2022 grants, we will reach the 15-year milestone of providing funding to a diverse group of dermatologists to support research into a wide range of skin of color dermatology subjects that can shape the future of our specialty.

Since this important SOCS offering was established in 2008, our SOCS Grant Awards program has grown and expanded to include multiple Dermatology Research Awards, as well as the newer SOCS Career Development Award, which was introduced in 2020.

Historically, the SOCS Dermatology Research Awards, and now the Career Development Award, have funded scientific investigations into numerous skin of color dermatology topics, including studies on:

• Vitiligo
• Acne keloidalis nuchae
• Melasma
• Keloids
• Melanocyte Function and Dyspigmentation— Dermal Scarring
• Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA)
• Skin Aging
• Acral melanoma
• Itch in African Americans
• Breast cancer in Black women
• Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas in Black women
• Hidradenitis Suppurativa

For a complete list of SOCS Dermatology Research Award recipients since the program began, visit here.

In 2021, Angel Byrd, MD, PhD, was the first recipient of the SOCS Career Development Award, for her research on “Elucidating the Role of Autoantibodies in Hidradenitis Suppurativa.”  We look forward to seeing this award program flourish with additional scientific investigators in the future.

Several previous SOCS Research Award recipients have been featured in Physician spotlights, found on the SOCS website, including the following SOCS members:

Jenna O’Neill, MD, FAAD
2013 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research: Genetic Factors in CCCA

Nada Elbuluk, MD, MsC, FAAD
2012 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research: Stretch Stimulus on Melanocyte Function and Dyspigmentation in Human Skin in Vivo: A Pilot Study on Striae Distensae

Donald Glass, MD, PhD, FAAD
2011 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research: Uncovering the Genetic Causes of Keloid Formation

Ammar M. Ahmed, MD, FAAD
2010 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Polypodium Leucotomos Extract as an Adjunct to Sunscreen in the Treatment of Melasma

John E. Harris, MD, PhD, FAAD
2009 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research: T cells in mouse model of vitiligo

Roopal V. Kundu, MD, FAAD
2008 Skin of Color Society Research Award Winner
Title of research:  Development and Validation of a Vitiligo-specific Quality of Life Instrument (VitiQol).

Watch for updates to this webpage, featuring spotlights about other SOCS members who are blazing scientific trails into skin of color dermatology.

We invite you to learn more about SOCS Research and Career Development Awards and encourage interested members to apply before September 30!

Visit:  https://socs.umbrellahost.net/research-awards/.