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2024 DF Clinical Symposium

The DF Clinical Symposium has a reputation for excellence that attracts hundreds yearly to receive a serious, in-depth medical educational experience and support the Foundation’s work.

Dr. Aimee Payne, DF Stiefel Scholar.

Dr. Aimee Payne’s Path to Creating CAAR-T Cell Therapies

In 2011, Aimee Payne, MD, PhD, was running a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, studying pemphigus vulgaris, an autoimmune disease of the skin that results when B cells make antibodies that attack the cell-adhesion protein desmoglein 3.

Off to the Races: Engineering CA(A)R-T Cells for Skin Disease Therapy

CAR T cell therapy is a personalized immunotherapy technology. A patient’s T cells are collected, genetically altered to express chimeric antigen receptors, and reinfused. CAR T cells seek out and kill target cells that express the specified antigen, such as CD19 or B cell maturation antigen (BCMA). Additionally, CAR T cells are programmed to proliferate and produce memory CAR T cells in the presence of target cells. Ongoing research into chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy and chimeric autoantibody receptor (CAAR) T cell therapy for cancers and autoimmune diseases, including pemphigus vulgaris (PV) may lead to clinical trials.

2023 DF Clinical Symposium

The DF Clinical Symposium is the national medical education event that attracts dermatologists, residents, and non-physician clinicians seeking a serious, in-depth educational experience. In its 20th year, this peer-reviewed continuing medical education program delivers cutting-edge talks from today’s specialty experts on every aspect of dermatology.

Bringing Research from Bench to Bedside

Dr. Chen presented on dermatologic immune-related adverse events (D-irAEs) and the role of dermatology specialists in the care of patients who are treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).