Your Academy’s educational content is unmatched.
From the President
By Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD, August 1, 2024
Dear members,
I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I’m sure a lot of you reading this have kids who wish their summers were a lot longer! But unfortunately for most of them, they’ll be heading back to school this month for what I hope is another year of excellent learning for our future leaders. I’d like to wish a very successful academic school year to anyone with returning students, and I want to especially wish luck to my daughter, Anya, who will be starting the 6th grade this month, and to my son, Armaan, who will be starting 3rd grade. Good luck, kids! I know you’ll have a great year, and your mom and I are so very proud of you.
It’s fitting that school resumes in August, because this month, I’ll be heading to India for the educational conclave, where Academy members will present some of the AAD’s most cutting-edge CME to our international colleagues. I truly do believe that the educational content produced by the Academy is the envy of the rest of the world’s dermatologic societies, and so I am very excited to be able to show this content off. It is truly one of the best things the Academy has to offer, and I am honored to represent you all during its showcase.
Of course, we would be remiss to enter August and not talk about the Innovation Academy! I spoke about it in detail last month, so I will keep it brief here, but I am incredibly proud of the things our amazing members do to innovate for our specialty, and I look forward to seeing what they come up with in the future.
2024 AAD Innovation Academy
For more information about the 2024 Innovation Academy, visit staging.aad.org/ia24.
During the Innovation Academy, I’ll continue working on behalf of the members and focusing on uniting our specialty at the groundbreaking presidential unity summit. Nearly 70 attendees comprising the presidents of several dermatology societies, state dermatology societies, and the AAD, plus the Academy Board of Directors and several AAD past presidents, will come together to talk about the long-term unity of our specialty and what initiatives the Academy can undertake in cooperation with these other groups to advance dermatology for ourselves and for our patients. It is sure to be a provocative and influential meeting of the minds, and I look forward to participating.
I had a very exciting and busy summer fighting and working hard on behalf of you. I can never thank you enough for trusting me with this important role. I hope everyone had a great summer, and I look forward to continuing the hard work.
All my best,
Seemal
Presidential spotlight
The Presidential Spotlight each month is an opportunity for me to highlight someone who continues to do incredible work for our specialty or even someone who has impacted me on my leadership journey personally.
This month’s Presidential Spotlight goes to Dr. Susan Boiko.
Dr. Boiko earned her medical degree at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, where she was a member of the Galens Honorary Medical Society. She did a pediatric internship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, a pediatric residency at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Francisco, and a dermatology residency at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she joined the faculty as a pediatric dermatologist. She received the Excellence in Teaching Award at Kaiser Permanente as a voluntary faculty member of the Family Medicine Residency Program and at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in dermatology. She is board certified in pediatrics, dermatology, and pediatric dermatology.
Dr. Boiko is an honored veteran, having served as a Major in the United States Air Force, where she received the Chief Physician’s Badge and the Air Force Achievement Medal. Her clinical interests include pediatric skin cancer prevention and sun safety for everyone. She has been co-chair for the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, and volunteered with the American Cancer Society, Centers for Disease Control, and California Dialogue on Cancer on Skin Cancer Prevention Guidelines for children and adults. Dr. Boiko has authored several journal articles and edited a journal edition devoted to skin cancer prevention and detection around the world. She spent two months in Rwanda teaching medical students and hospital personnel about skin disease and supervising a medical staff dermatology clinic at Nyamata Hospital.
What I’m personally most pleased to share about Dr. Boiko is the amount of passion, energy, and work she has put into our flagship Academy Camp Discovery initiatives. Her enthusiasm for Camp Discovery and the impact that this program has had on so many children suffering from skin, hair, and nail disease has been a driving force in our Academy’s work. In fact, it’s because of her invaluable efforts alongside our Academy professionals and other experts that we are on the cusp of opening a brand new camp in California! There will be lots more to follow on this in the coming months. In short, I view Dr. Boiko as a true hero of our specialty for her dedication to pediatric dermatology, Camp Discovery, and to our Academy. I am proud and honored to bestow upon her this month’s AAD Presidential Spotlight to honor a true champion of our Academy’s philanthropic efforts!
AAD/A Impact Report
Read more about what the Academy is doing for you at staging.aad.org/impact.
