2026 Scientific Meeting
Grand Hyatt Nashville
November 13-15, 2026
2026 FEATURED SPEAKERS
Murad Alam, MDDr. Murad Alam is Vice-Chair of Dermatology; Professor of Dermatology, Otolaryngology, and Surgery; Professor of Medical Social Sciences, and Chief of the Section of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery, at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Yale University, completed internship in internal medicine at the University of Michigan, and obtained residency training in dermatology at Columbia University. An author of over 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications, Dr. Alam is Editor of Archives of Dermatological Research, the oldest dermatology journal in the world, founded in 1869.
Douglas Johnson, MDDr. Doug Johnson recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the Division of Hematology/Oncology with a focus on melanoma and a broader interest in molecular profiling, targeted therapy, and immune therapy across cancer types. After growing up in San Antonio, TX, he completed medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, residency at Duke University, and, more recently, a fellowship and the MSCI program at Vanderbilt. He is now on the physician-scientist track performing clinical and translational research. Dr. Johnson's primary scientific interests are in developing and understanding biomarkers for immune and targeted therapeutics and developing clinical trials for melanoma patients.
Karmacharya Paras, MDParas Karmacharya, MBBS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and leads the psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis clinical and research program at VUMC. As a result of his post-doctoral musculoskeletal research training and Master of Science training in Clinical and Translational Sciences at the Mayo Clinic, he is proficient in the use of large databases, designing and performing longitudinal studies with primary data sources, and outlining clinical and treatment heterogeneity in different patient subgroups using machine learning methods. He received the Medical and Pediatric Resident Research Award as a resident and the Philip S. Hench Award 2020 for Outstanding Achievement as a Rheumatology fellow. He has received research grants from Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN), Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), and Assessment of spondyloarthritis international society (ASAS), and Rheumatology Research Foundation (RRF Scientist Development Award) to understand heterogeneity in spondyloarthritis, associated comorbidities, and their effect on long-term outcomes.
Lauren Kole, MDLauren Kole, MD grew up in Carolina Beach, NC. She graduated from Duke University with degrees in Chemistry and Biology. She then attended medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she also completed her internship in Internal Medicine. Subsequently, Dr. Kole completed her dermatology training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she served as chief resident. She later joined the faculty in the Department of Dermatology at Yale University. Dr. Kole returned to join the faculty UAB in 2018 as assistant director of the residency program. She sees both medical and cosmetic dermatology patients in her practice. 
Milan Anadkat, MD Milan Anadkat, MD is a Professor of Dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine. He is currently Vice Chair of Faculty Development for the Department of Medicine. He is also Vice Chief of Clinical Operations and Director of Clinical Trials for the Division of Dermatology. He was formerly Residency Program Director for Dermatology until 2020. His clinical focus is complex medical dermatology, with a particular interest in oncodermatology and hidradenitis suppurativa. Dr. Anadkat is currently Chair of the AAD Leadership Development Steering Committee. He was previously Deputy Editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Case Reports. He has also served on the Board of Directors for multiple national Dermatologic Societies.
Allison Jones, MDAllison Jones, MD, FAAD, is a board-certified dermatologist who practices general dermatology in an academic setting at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Dr. Jones obtained a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from Mississippi State University in 2008 and her medical degree from the University of Mississippi in 2013. Subsequently, she completed a dermatology residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2017. She joined the Kaplan Amonette Department of Dermatology in 2017 and currently serves as the Dermatology Residency Program Director. Dr. Jones specializes in complex medical dermatology with a specific interest in transplant dermatology, skin manifestations of rheumatologic conditions, hidradenitis and cutaneous T cell lymphoma.
Eric Tkaczyk, MDDr. Tkaczyk, a graduate of the MD/PhD program at the University of Michigan, with PhD in electrical engineering from the Center for Ultrafast Optical Science (CUOS), is an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology and is a physician-scientist with research interests in biophotonics for diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases. Some of his research specialties include noninvasive diagnostic technology, 3D imaging, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and deep learning. Some of his clinical interests include graft-versus-host disease, skin cancer and reflectance confocal microscopy.
Kiran Motaparthi, MDKiran Motaparthi, MD earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University where he was awarded Phi Beta Kappa status. After receiving a merit-based scholarship, he earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, where he was awarded Alpha Omega Alpha status. Dr. Motaparthi subsequently completed internship in Internal Medicine and residency in Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine; he was awarded the Wilhelm Johnson Memorial Scholarship during residency. After serving as Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Motaparthi completed his fellowship in Dermatopathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he was given the Teaching Award by the Department of Dermatology. He then served as Director of Dermatopathology Education at Miraca Life Sciences and Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. In 2016, Dr. Motaparthi joined the faculty at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He served as Residency Program Director and Director of Dermatopathology from 2018-2024. He currently serves as Clinical Professor and Vice Chair of Education. In 2017 and 2021, he was named Teacher of the Year by the Department of Dermatology. In 2018, 2021, and 2024, he received the Exemplary Teacher Award from the College of Medicine. In 2021, he was inducted into the Society of Teaching Scholars. Including textbook chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles, he has authored over 200 publications. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and a member of the American Society of Dermatopathology; he also serves on committees in these societies and has presented lectures at their annual meetings. Dr. Motaparthi is certified in Dermatology and Dermatopathology by the American Board of Dermatology. His clinical interests include autoimmune blistering disorders, infectious disease, and inpatient consultative dermatology; his interests in pathology include squamous cell carcinoma, inflammatory dermatopathology, and artificial intelligence.
Leslie, Lawley, MDLeslie Lawley, MD, is an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology and in the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. A board-certified pediatric dermatologist, Dr. Lawley specializes in the treatment of vascular tumors and malformations, and graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) in children. Dr. Lawley earned her Doctor of Medicine from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia where she also completed her internship and residency in dermatology. She completed a fellowship in pediatric dermatology at Children's Memorial Hospital/Feinberg School of Medicine-Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois.
Andy Blauvelt, MD Andy Blauvelt, MD is President of Oregon Medical Research Center in Portland, Oregon, a private dermatology clinical studies business. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering at Purdue University, his medical degree at Michigan State University, and his Healthcare MBA from Portland State University/Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Dr. Blauvelt trained in dermatology at the University of Miami and in basic immunology/virology under the direction of Steve Katz at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has held senior staff tenured positions at the NIH, OHSU, and the Portland VA Medical Center. Andy’s clinical and research expertise is in Langerhans cell biology, immunology, virology, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and biologic therapies for complex medical dermatology patients, having published over 260 papers and spoken across the world on these topics. Dr. Blauvelt is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (a leading society for physician-scientists), the International Psoriasis Council (the premier group of psoriasis experts in the world), and the International Eczema Council (the premier group of eczema experts in the world).
