Explain in 2 or 3 sentences what you do.
The Dermatologic Society of Greater New York was founded in 1924, originally as the Bronx Dermatologic Society, with approximately a dozen members. It has changed and grown since then to become, with over 250 members, the largest regional dermatologic society in the United States. Because of its size and the fame of its internationally-renowned membership, it represents one of the most famous collections of dermatologic thought and innovation in the world.
Who do you publish?
We do not have an official publication, however our members are thought leaders who publish in all of the major dermatology and medical journals. We publish summaries of our meetings, including salient tips and data, on our web site at www.dermsociety.org. We also participate in the Atlantic Dermatology Conference, held annually by the member societies, and are working towards having a proceedings of the conference published in the near future.
Who are your members?
The membership is drawn from Board-certified or Board-eligible dermatologists (and dermatology residents-in-training) from the entire metropolitan New York-New Jersey Region. The breadth of interests and experience of this group is immense and unparalleled since it represents physicians in daily clinical medical and surgical dermatologic practice of adults and children, young doctors in training, dermatopathologists, and academic researchers from our eight local University departments of dermatology.
How do your members benefit?
Members are invited to our lecture series, conducted fall through spring of each year encompassing six lectures on hot topics in dermatology and featuring leaders in the field from across the country. Topics cover the breadth of medical dermatology, dermatologic surgery, and cosmetic dermatology. We also hold an annual dinner each year for our members in the late spring, which draws the membership of the group closer for an intimate evening. They also are listed on the web site through a doctor search feature. We also have developed a Young Physicians’ Committee, which sponsors social events/happy hours for early-career dermatologists. This is a great new feature of the society which allows old friends in the area to catch up but also allows dermatologists new to the area to meet and speak with their colleagues.
What events do you have coming up?
While we have concluded our lecture series, we are having our Annual Dinner on May 18th at Café Boulud. We are planning a Young Physicians’ Committee networking event to coincide with the Summer AAD meeting in NYC this year and are looking forward to our fall lecture series starting in October.
What do you contribute to dermatology?
Members of this group first described or discovered countless new diseases such as Kaposi’s Sarcoma associated with AIDS and inherited syndromes such as Bloom’s syndrome, invented universally applied techniques such as patch testing, pioneered the early detection of lethal malignant melanoma and its treatment by surgery and even antibody therapy, pioneered graduate and post-graduate training programs in microscopically-controlled skin cancer surgery, laser surgery and dermatopathology and first developed and used the surgical techniques of dermabrasion for scars, wrinkles and pre-cancers, hair transplantation for baldness, liposuction for unsightly fat, certain laser treatments of red or brown birthmarks, and laser resurfacing for wrinkles and laser hair removal. The forefront of dermatology has long been and continues to be at the doorstep of this Society.
Are you doing any research?
We sponsor a yearly resident competition where residents from all of the area institutions present their research projects to the membership. This is always a very popular meeting, and a very competitive one as well as we receive a large number of applications for a limited number of presentations. We also help our members with their research projects and surveys by providing the membership of the society to provide input and data.
Important dates to keep in mind for the year, related to your organization.
- May 18 – Annual Dinner
- Summer TBD – Networking Event during Summer AAD
- October-December – Monthly Lecture Series
What is something unique about your society?
Socio-medical issues are important to the discussions of this group as it interplays actively with the New York State Dermatologic Society, the American Academy of Dermatology, the New York State Medical Society and governmental agencies, attempting by these measures to improve the dermatologic care of New York area residents. We have been approached by legislators seeking input on important initiatives such as allowances for higher degrees of window tinting for patients with photo-aggravated diseases and other dermatologic issues. The Dermatologic Society of Greater New York sponsors and supervises area-wide free skin cancer screenings every May and has developed public educational announcements and programs and other outreach materials for the community.
Find out more about the The Dermatologic Society of Greater New York.
