This post is part of a series highlighting program features as we count down to May in Chicago. From distinguished named lectures to breakthrough research presentations and opportunities to connect with colleagues across the field, the 2026 program brings together the investigative dermatology community to learn, share, and advance skin science. Stay tuned for more schedule spotlights in the coming weeks.
We’re continuing our day-by-day preview of the 2026 SID Annual Meeting with Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16. Friday’s program features three distinguished named lectures and the Society’s highest honor, while Saturday morning opens with a special session on science advocacy. Schedule details will continue to be updated as programming is finalized. Check back often for the most current information.
Friday, May 15
Eugene Farber Lecture • 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Anne Bowcock, PhD
Rare variants drive discovery in Psoriasis: From genetic mechanisms to novel therapies
Anne Bowcock is the Norman Orentreich, MD Professor of Dermatology Research and Professor of Oncological Sciences and Genetics & Genome Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York. She has been a pioneer in the genetic and genomic analyses of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis for over 30 years, with the goal of identifying novel ways of combatting their effects.
Bowcock’s group was among the first to perform global genomic analyses of psoriatic skin and pioneered the study of rare predisposing variants in psoriasis. Her laboratory identified CARD14 as a gene mutated in rare Mendelian forms of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, providing important insights into both adult and pediatric forms of the disease. Her current work examines the altered CARD14 signalsome and novel therapeutic approaches, including targeted protein degradation.
Together with Dr. Allen Menter, she founded the National Psoriasis Tissue Bank in 1993. She has over 255 publications with more than 36,000 citations and was the recipient of a Psoriasis Research Achievement Award from the American Skin Association in 2005.
The Eugene M. Farber endowed lecture honors Dr. Farber’s scientific career and devotion to understanding the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
Stephen Rothman Memorial Award Presentation • 12:00 – 12:15 p.m.
Thomas Kupper, MD
The Stephen Rothman Memorial Award is the Society’s highest honor, presented annually for distinguished service to investigative cutaneous medicine. The recipient has made major scientific achievements, excelled as a teacher and recruiter of outstanding dermatologists, and distinctly altered the course and image of dermatology or its allied fields.
This year’s recipient is Thomas Kupper, MD. The award presentation will take place Friday at noon.
Herman Beerman Lecture • 2:15 – 2:45 p.m.
Ron Evans, PhD
Nuclear Receptors at the Crossroads of Metabolism, Physiology, and Disease
Ronald M. Evans is a Professor and Director of the Gene Expression Laboratory at the Salk Institute, where he holds the March of Dimes Chair in Molecular and Developmental Biology. He is best known for his discovery of the nuclear receptor superfamily—a breakthrough that has shaped our understanding of how cells respond to hormones and metabolic signals.
Evans is a Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is routinely listed among the Top 100 Scientists in the World and is a Highly Cited Researcher, with over 246,000 citations. His awards include the Gairdner, Lasker, Wolf, and Japan Prizes.
State-of-the-Art Plenary Lecture 3 • 2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Hunter Shain, PhD
The Genomic Landscape and Evolution of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Hunter Shain is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he is also affiliated with the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Institute of Human Genetics. His research harnesses cutting-edge genomic and single-cell technologies to investigate how mutations accumulate in human skin cells and fuel the earliest steps of cancer development.
Shain’s laboratory integrates single-cell DNA sequencing, single-cell RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics to create high-resolution maps of skin biology and tumorigenesis. His group reported the first single-cell atlas of mutations in human melanocytes and has shown how normal skin cells can harbor oncogenic mutations long before cancer arises. He currently serves as a lead investigator in the NIH Human Tumor Atlas Network, directing the effort to build a “pre-cancer atlas of skin cancer.”
His work has been published in Nature, Science, Nature Genetics, The New England Journal of Medicine, Cancer Cell, and Nature Reviews Cancer. He has received numerous awards, including the LEO Foundation Award and selection as one of the American Association for Cancer Research’s Next Generation Stars.
Saturday, May 16
Special Guest Session • 8:00 – 8:30 a.m.
Mary Woolley, President and CEO, Research!America
Saturday morning opens with a conversation with Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, an alliance that advocates for science, discovery, and innovation to achieve better health for all.
Woolley is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, where she served two terms on its Governing Council. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served on numerous advisory boards, including the National Academy of Sciences Board on Higher Education and the Workforce and the Board on Life Sciences.
She holds honorary doctoral degrees from Wayne State University and the Northeast Ohio Medical University and has a 35-year publication history on science advocacy and research-related topics. Woolley is a sought-after speaker and is often interviewed by science, news, and policy journalists.
This special session offers a timely opportunity to hear from a national leader on the importance of advocating for science and research funding—critical issues for the investigative dermatology community.
Register for SID 2026
Early registration rates are available through April 13. Join us in Chicago for these featured lectures and four full days of cutting-edge skin science.