CHICAGO, Dec. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As the world's leading professional skin of color dermatology organization dedicated to advancing excellence and equity in patient care, the Skin of Color Society (SOCS) reports a highly impactful year of seminal achievements and contributions. Founded in 2004 by Dr. Susan C. Taylor, SOCS has grown dramatically over the past two decades to now include more than 1,330 members in 22 countries and offer many enriching and innovative programs to benefit physicians, patients, and the public.

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/skin_of_color_society/9309751-en-skin-of-color-society-socs-2025-year-in-review

Through a dynamic array of signature programs and newer initiatives supporting research, education, mentorship, leadership development, and advocacy, meaningful outcomes and new milestones were reached in 2025.

2025 Featured Highlights

3rd Meeting the Challenge Summit: Advancing Dermatology Clinical Trials: Expanding Outcome Measures

More than 115 stakeholders across the clinical research ecosystem convened at the 3rd SOCS Meeting the Challenge Summit, held in Washington, D.C., on December 5-6, 2025.

With a focus on Advancing Dermatology in Clinical Trials: Expanding Outcome Measures, the Summit's sessions featured esteemed faculty who examined how to ensure that clinical trials are more inclusive, patient-centered, and reflective of served communities.

This was the third gathering of its kind in a continuum of efforts stemming from the overall SOCS Meeting the Challenge initiative that has been evolving since 2022, as illustrated in this timeline.

This year's Meeting the Challenge Summit was made possible thanks to the support of Johnson & Johnson (Champion); Lilly and Sanofi-Regeneron (Ally); Novartis (Partner); AbbVie, Aerolase, Biogen, Galderma, and Takeda (Friend).

Special thanks to the SOCS Meeting the Challenge in Research Committee for their vision, commitment, and extraordinary dedication to this vital work, including Founding Co-chairs and SOCS Past Presidents, Drs. Valerie D. Callender and Valerie M. Harvey, and members Drs. Carole Bitar, Stafford G. Brown III, Cheryl Marie Burgess, Angel Byrd, Alexandra P. Charrow, Seemal R. Desai, Candrice R. Heath, Tarannum Jaleel, Amy McMichael, Chidubem A. V. Okeke, Kanade Shinkai, Hema Sundaram, Junko Takeshita, Jonathan S. Weiss, and Jane Yoo, Drs. Prince Adotama and Elizabeth Kiracofe for their collaboration as co-chairs of the SOCS Advocacy Committee, along with Research Fellow Dr. Dani Mendez Rocha and the CHORD COUSIN Collaboration.

8th Annual SOCS Media Day

SOCS successfully presented its 8th Annual SOCS Media Day to a wide range of editors, reporters, and content creators spanning dermatology, health, beauty, lifestyle, and mainstream news outlets on November 18, 2025. Titled, "Trends & Truths in Skin of Color— Setting the Record Straight in the Age of Misinformation," this content-rich virtual event featured eight highly recognized experts who shared their insights on the following timely topics:

• Trending Topics in Skin of Color: What's Hot, What's Not! with Dr. Brittany Oliver and Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali
• Aesthetic Procedures in Skin of Color, with Dr. Nada Elbuluk and Dr. Nkem Ugonabo
• The Hair Report: Discoveries and Controversies, with Dr. Victoria Barbosa and Dr. Prince Adotama
• Skin Cancer and Sunscreen in Skin of Color, with Dr. Rebecca Vasquez and Dr. Corey L. Hartman

The 8th Annual SOCS Media Day was made possible thanks to the generous support of EltaMD Skincare, Johnson & Johnson, and LEO Pharmaceuticals.

My Best Winter Skin

Now in its third year, the Society's public education campaign, known as My Best Winter Skin, captured record-level interest and robust participation by SOCS members and dermatology colleagues in 2025. Kicking off annually each October 24, officially called My Best Winter Skin Day, the program has grown exponentially since it was established in 2023.

This year, 505 volunteers engaged in 105 community outreach events at universities, clinics, hospitals, and other sites in 72 cities, 31 states, and 2 countries (U.S. and Canada), enthusiastically educating the public with SOCS dermatologist-developed skincare tips and sharing 10,000 product samples generously provided by this year's Sponsor, Vaseline^®.

Center for Leadership's Learning Collaborative

The SOCS Center for Leadership (CFL) successfully presented its inaugural Learning Collaborative Leadership Training in Chicago, Illinois, on July 17-18, 2025. The first-ever cohort comprises an outstanding group of SOCS members who experienced an inspiring and insightful training intensive based on the renowned work of Kouzes and Posner's Leadership Challenge: The Five Principles of Exemplary Leadership.

Learn more about this comprehensive longitudinal leadership training program in this short video.

The CFL is supported by Clinique, Eli Lilly (Founding Sponsor), Pfizer, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries.

Groundbreaking Clinical Investigator Training Mentorship Program

SOCS and the National Medical Association (NMA) Dermatology Section collaboratively presented the Phase II: In-Person Principal Investigator Training and Meet Your Mentor Day in Chicago, on Friday, July 18, 2025. This highly informative day of in-person training and mentorship is a key part of the multi-phase Clinical Investigator Training Mentorship Program, co-led by SOCS Clinical Investigator Committee Co-chairs Drs. Leandra A. Barnes and Tarannum Jaleel, and NMA Dermatology Section Chair Dr. Hope Mitchell and NMA Membership Chair Dr. Cheri Frey, both SOCS members.

The program covered a wide range of topics essential to developing a comprehensive understanding of the clinical trial process from a site perspective, including study initiation, clinical trial agreements and budget negotiations, participant recruitment, advertising, data collection, study completion, and more. Faculty included: Tiffany Bennett and SOCS members Drs. Valerie D. Callender, Iltefat Hamzavi, Corey L. Hartman, Tiffany Mayo, and Michi Shinohara; as well as Jennifer Lane and Jennifer O'Hora (Johnson & Johnson), and Vidhya Hariharan (Incyte).

Before this Phase II experience, mentees participated in an 8-part online course presented by the NMA in Phase I. Following this Phase II program, the cohort had the option to continue professional development in Phase III, which includes a longitudinal mentorship presented by SOCS.

Learn more about the groundbreaking collaboration between SOCS and the NMA Dermatology Section in this Skin of Color Savvy podcast episode.

This program is supported by Johnson & Johnson.

Expanding Global Presence: SOCS Scientific Sessions at EADV, Dubai Derma

Under the vision and leadership of current President Dr. Nada Elbuluk, SOCS is prioritizing global expansion, notably marked by presenting two first-ever Scientific Sessions at important international conferences this year, including:

• Dubai Derma in Dubai, UAE, on April 16, 2025, co-chaired by Drs. Michelle Rodrigues and Alia Galadari, with panelists Drs. Babar Rao and Michael Waul.
• European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress in Paris on September 19, 2025, co-chaired by Drs. Susan C. Taylor and Michelle Rodrigues, with fellow presenters Drs. Andrew F. Alexis, Ncoza Dlova, and Henry Lim.

Plans are underway for continued global growth and impact in 2026 through the work of the newly established SOCS Global Council and Collaborations Committee.

21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium, Innovating for Equity

The 21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium, "Innovating for Equity," was successfully presented in Orlando, Florida, on March 6, 2025, convening nearly 525 attendees from around the world. A signature annual program, this year's Symposium was co-chaired by Drs. Crystal Aguh and Cesar Antonio Virgen, and developed through the SOCS Scientific Meetings Committee.

The well-rounded scientific program showcased insights from emerging researchers and dermatology leaders, featuring enriching presentations by invited speakers and oral abstract presenters, panel discussions, a keynote session, and 94 scientific iPoster abstracts. In addition, several major research awards were presented (see A Year of Impact: SOCS By the Numbers section below).

The 21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium was made possible thanks to the generous support of the following Sponsors: AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and Regeneron, (Champion Level); Bristol Myers Squibb, Clinique, Incyte Dermatology, Eli Lilly, Vaseline, (Ally Level); Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Pfizer, and UCB, (Partner Level); Beiersdorf, CLINUVEL, Ortho Dermatologics, and Takeda, (Friend Level); EltaMD Skincare, L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty, Merz Aesthetics, SkinCeuticals, Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali, and Dr. David and Nina Harvey, (Special Recognition).

Medical Student Breakfast Before the Symposium
Earlier that day, nearly 150 medical students from many academic institutions participated in the first-ever Medical Student Breakfast, which was developed to support and empower future dermatologists.

This program featured a panel discussion among SOCS leaders who shared their insights and advice for strengthening applications to residency programs. Dr. Neelam Khan moderated the panel, with panelists Drs. Pamela Allen, Amy McMichael, and Ginette Okoye.

As a part of this special program, an exciting initiative was introduced, known as the Dermatologists of Tomorrow Scholarship presented by Clinique & SOCSF. The scholarship program is designed to provide financial assistance and mentorship to medical students entering their fourth year who aspire to pursue careers in dermatology and are committed to health equity. This valuable opportunity is made possible through generous, multi-year support from Clinique.

The 22nd Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium will take place in Denver, CO on March 26, 2026.

A Year of Outcomes: SOCS Impact by the Numbers

• 100 Mentor-Mentee Pairings for the SOCS Mentorship Program.
• 33 Dermatologists of Tomorrow Scholarship (DOTS) scholarships awarded.
• 11 Observership Grants awarded.
• 10 Resident Travel Grant Awards provided to dermatology residents to attend the 3rd Meeting the Challenge Summit.
• 6 Zoom Mentoring sessions offered to physicians in training, with 110 mentees participating.
• 959 copies of the textbook, Procedures in Cosmetic Dermatology: Cosmetic Procedures in Skin of Color, edited by Dr. Andrew F. Alexis, were distributed to medical students through the SOCS President's Book Club. This program was supported by Sun Pharma and Pfizer.
• 11 Awards were bestowed at the 21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium:
• SOCS Career Development Award: Dr. Courtney Johnson, Johns Hopkins University, for "Investigating the Role of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts in the Immunodetection of Mycosis Fungoides." This award is supported by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer.
• 2025 Dermatology Research Award: Dr. Stephen Li, Northwestern University, for "Adult Hair Follicle Neogenesis for Treatment of Scarring Alopecia." Funding for this program is made possible thanks to Bristol Myers Squibb, L'Oréal Dermatological Beauty, and Pfizer.
• 2025 Dermatology Foundation-Skin of Color Society Collaborative Mid-Career Award sponsored by Sanofi and Regeneron: Dr. Crystal Aguh, Johns Hopkins University, for "Probing Transcriptomic Impact of Metabolic Interventions in CCCA." Funding for this award is made possible thanks to Sanofi and Regeneron.
• 2025 Early Career Innovations Award: Dr. Will Lewis, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, for "Improving Erythema Visualization in Digital Images of Pigmented Skin." This award is made possible thanks to Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali and EltaMD Skincare.
• 2025 Institutional Research Fellowship Awards: UMass Chan Medical School and Henry Ford Health
• The Inaugural Center for Leadership Resident Leader Award: Dr. Antara Afrin, PGY-2, Yale School of Medicine, and Dr. Amaris Geisler, PGY-4, Chief Dermatology Resident, Emory University School of Medicine.
• 2025 Best Poster Presentation: Dr. Richard H. Huggins, Henry Ford Health Systems, for "Excellent Repigmentation of Stable Vitiligo Lesions Across Fitzpatrick Skin Types Following Autologous Skin Cell Suspension Treatment Prepared by a Point-of-Care Cell Harvesting Device."
• 2025 Oral Abstract Presentation Advancing Skin of Color Dermatology:
  1st Place: Madison Blackwell, BS, Howard University College of Medicine, "Markers of Inflammation and Metabolic Disease in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Preliminary Analysis of TNF-α in Biospecimens from Howard University Department of Dermatology.
  2nd Place: Shahin Shahsavari, BA, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, "Investigating DNA Methylation in Prurigo Nodularis: Racial Variations in Epigenetic Neuroregulation."
  3rd Place: Swathi Holla, MS, Baylor College of Medicine, "Psychiatric and Autoimmune Comorbidities in Vitiligo: The Role of Demographic and Socioeconomic Factors."
• Nearly 200 SOCS members and dermatology colleagues engaged in SOCS Networking & Educational Symposia in Indianapolis, IN, Los Angeles, CA, Detroit, MI, and Minneapolis, MN in 2025. These events are supported by Pfizer.
• 511 new members joined the Society in 2025, enlarging our global reach to 22 countries and elevating our impact around the world.

"Thanks to our incredible global family of leaders, members, supporters, researchers, collaborators, and innovators, 2025 has been an exemplary year of progress as we work to fulfill our mission and broaden our impact in service to our specialty, our patients, and the public," comments SOCS President Dr. Nada Elbuluk.

About the Skin of Color Society
The Skin of Color Society (SOCS) is the leading international professional dermatologic organization dedicated to promoting awareness of and excellence within skin of color dermatology. through research, education, mentorship, and advocacy. Established in 2004 by Susan C. Taylor, MD, SOCS includes members from 22 countries around the world. Learn more: www.skinofcolorsociety.org. 

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SOURCE Skin of Color Society