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Experiencing the Many Unique Benefits of Your SOCS Membership!

As we wrap up the Skin of Color Society membership renewal season, and gear up for the 18th Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium, we are looking ahead to a very exciting and enriching year for SOCS members—filled with outstanding opportunities to grow professionally and personally.

We invite you to more fully experience the many unique benefits of your SOCS membership in the coming year, such as:

1. Exclusive free access to the Dermatology E-Learning + Equity Platform (DEEP), our groundbreaking learning management system (LMS) that enables members to learn straight from leading skin of color dermatology experts at your own pace, and earn CME credit through dermatology educational webinars, as well as practice management content.
2. Eligibility to apply for SOCS Mentorship and SOCS Observership Awards.
3. Eligibility to apply for SOCS Research, SOCS Career Development, and SOCS Foundation-Pfizer Fellowship Awards.
4. Reduced registration fees for the Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium, which unites top researchers from around the USA and the world, who present new research in skin of color dermatology, share key insights, and discuss the continuing evolution of the field.
5. Priority access to virtual and in-person Networking & Educational Symposia, Dermatology Diversity Town Halls, and other enrichment programs.
6. Exciting opportunities to develop professionally, gain leadership skills and share your expertise with the media and the public.
7. Connection, collegiality, and camaraderie with colleagues and mentors who share a passion for skin of color dermatology, and a commitment to achieving health equities in patient care.

Here’s what esteemed SOCS leaders have to say about being a part of SOCS:

“I am absolutely thrilled with the trajectory of SOCS since we began in 2004. When we look at how the membership has grown, it’s so rewarding to see the expansion in the numbers of members involved, as well as our diversity and the wide range of valuable programs and activities we now offer.”—Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, SOCS Founder

“We are a group that is truly committed to excellence, a really unique group. I wish we could call ourselves the Skin of Color Family instead of the Skin of Color Society, because this is a group where we use our commitment and passion for science and care and combine it with leadership, camaraderie and passion for everything that is related to skin of color dermatology.”—Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD, SOCS Past President

“The Skin of Color Society is a great brotherhood or sisterhood…where people really learn from each other.”—Cheryl Burgess, MD, FAAD, Former Board member

“Being a part of the Skin of Color Society is being part of an international community of individuals ranging from dermatologists, members of industry, medical students, residents, all who share one passion: passion in advancing the care of dermatologic disorders in patients with skin of color, a population that has some unique unmet needs. SOCS really stands alone as the only and the premier organization that focuses on advancing the education, awareness and research into areas of importance for patients of color.”—Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH, Co-chair, SOCS Scientific Committee

“I wouldn’t be the kind of dermatologist I am without the Skin of Color Society. I think it has really shaped who I am as a physician, as a person. I’ve learned a lot more about diversity, about my patients. I ask more questions. Hopefully I am better at what I do because of it.”—Dhaval Bhanusali, MD, FAAD, SOCS member

“The Skin of Color Society is so special because it is a group of extremely dedicated dermatologists. It’s national, it’s international…there are people who are academicians, clinicians in private practice, there’s a close network.”—Lynn McKinley-Grant, MD, FAAD, SOCS Past President

I’m constantly learning new things from my colleagues and co-members who are in this organization. Every day, I’m able to use something that I’m learning from one of my colleagues and incorporate that into my everyday practice.”—Crystal Aguh, MD, MPH, FAAD, SOCS Board Member

“We take the individual from the place where they’re just starting in their medical career and thinking about ‘where would I like to go?’ “Is dermatology right for me?” all the way through residency, through fellowship and into their practicing world. For someone who’s coming to the Society new, I would recommend they start with committee work, then start to move up in the Society as we are always looking for the next leaders.”—Amy McMichael, MD, FAAD, SOCS Past President

“One of the exciting parts about the Skin of Color Society is our Mentorship Program, and that’s where you bring these generational dermatologists together and you come up with new ideas and learn how to treat your patients, without the adverse events that we commonly see in patients with darker skin.”—Valerie Callender, MD, FAAD, SOCS Founding Member

 We warmly invite you to renew your membership and invite others to join the Skin of Color Society family today!

Join us today!

*People with skin of color are of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, and include African Americans, Asians, Hispanics or Latinos, Native Indians and Pacific Islanders primarily, as well as individuals from these groups who have intermarried.

The SOCS Dermatology E-Learning and Equity Platform (known as DEEP) is a first-of-its-kind online learning management system (LMS) using the Docebo platform that enables members to learn straight from the experts at their own pace through dermatology educational webinars and practice management content. Through this platform our members are able to benefit from unlimited and free access to all educational content. After six months, non-members will be invited to enter DEEP for a fee. Eventually, it will be used as a tool to curate learning for mentees as well.

DEEP is distinctive from other learning management systems in that our platform is CME-based, and serves a valuable benefit of SOCS membership. DEEP is also more practice-focused, rather than textbook-based, and reflects what leading skin of color dermatologists are doing in their practices in treating their patients, so “DEEP’ers" can expect “hot off the press” content. With these exciting points of distinction, we believe that DEEP will be a nimble resource that will offer emerging and highly relevant expert content.

As you know, the Society’s mission is to promote awareness of and excellence within skin of color dermatology through research, education, mentorship, and advocacy. The DEEP platform fits squarely within our mission as it is devoted to education (CME & non-CME) and practice management material. This unique educational program is made possible by a grant from L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty Brands: SkinCeuticals, La Roche-Posay and CeraVe. We are truly grateful for their support and collaboration which has allowed us to develop such an important resource that will be easily accessible to physicians at all career levels.

The initial course catalog includes these dermatology e-learning courses:

• Overview of Hair Disorders: Cicatricial Alopecia, taught by Crystal Aguh, MD, FAAD and Non-Scarring Hair and Scalp Disorders in Skin of Color Patients, taught by Amy McMichael, MD, FAAD.
• Keloids and Hypertrophic Scarring taught by Donald Glass II, MD, PhD, FAAD, and Eva Kerby, MD, FAAD.

This unique educational program is made possible by a grant from L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty Brands: SkinCeuticals, La Roche-Posay and CeraVe. We are truly grateful for their support and collaboration which has allowed us to develop such an important resource that will be easily accessible to physicians at all career levels.

Reporting Claims of Copyright Infringement

The Skin of Color Society (“SOCS”) will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable law. If you believe any materials accessible on or from this site (the “Website”) infringe your copyright, you may request removal of those materials (or access to them) from the Website by submitting written notification to our copyright agent designated below. In accordance with the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), the written notice (each a “DMCA Notice”) must include the following information:

• Your physical or electronic signature.
• Your contact information (full name, mailing address, email address, and phone number).
• Identification of the copyrighted material that you claim has been infringed.
• Identification of the material on the Website you claim infringes your copyright in a sufficiently precise manner to allow us to locate that material.
• A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
• A statement that the information in the DMCA Notice is accurate.
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.

Our designated copyright agent to receive DMCA Notices is:

Scott S. Fintzen
Gaido & Fintzen
320 Walnut Street
St. Charles, IL 60174
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you fail to comply with all of the requirements of Section 512(c)(3) of the DMCA, your DMCA Notice may not be effective. Please be aware that if you knowingly misrepresent that material or activity on the Website is infringing your copyright, you may be held liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) under Section 512(f) of the DMCA.

Counter Notification Procedures

If you believe material you posted to the Website was removed or access to it was disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may file a counter notification to SOCS (a “Counter Notice”) by submitting written notification to our copyright agent designated above. Pursuant to the DMCA, the Counter Notice must include:

• Your physical or electronic signature.
• Your contact information (full name, mailing address, email address, and phone number).
• Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled, and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled.
• A statement under perjury that you have a good faith belief that the material identified above was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
• A statement that you will consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the district in which your address is located (or if you reside outside of the United States for any judicial district in which the Website is found) and that you will accept service from the person (or an agent of that person) who provided SOCS with the complaint at issue.

The DMCA allows us to restore the removed content if the party filing the original DMCA Notice does not file a court action against you within ten business days of receiving the copy of your Counter Notice.

Please be aware that if you knowingly materially misrepresent that material or activity on the Website was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may be held liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) under Section 512(f) of the DMCA.

Repeat Infringers

It is SOCS’s policy in appropriate circumstances and at its discretion to terminate access to the Website for users who may be repeat infringers of the copyrights of others.

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://skinofcolorsociety.org/research-awards/.