Dermatology Summit 2025

Biography

Liav Abraham is a Managing Director in UBS’ Global Healthcare group based in NY, where she focuses on advising life sciences companies on a variety of strategic and capital markets transactions, including in the dermatology and aesthetics therapeutic areas. Liav joined UBS in 2023 following the acquisition of Credit Suisse, and prior to her time at Credit Suisse, she was a biopharma equity research analyst at both Citi and Morgan Stanley, where she covered stocks in the pharmaceuticals sector. She holds an MBA from Columbia University.

Biography

Dr. Alvarado is a Vice President in the Research Department at Celldex Therapeutics, where he oversees discovery and translational medicine activities. He joined Celldex in 2016 as a Director of Research, where he contributed to the discovery and preclinical development of several programs, including barzolvolimab (CDX-0159). Previously, he was a Director and Senior Scientist at Kolltan Pharmaceuticals from 2010 to 2016, where he oversaw the discovery, preclinical development, and biomarker discovery for several monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates targeting receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Dr. Alvarado did his postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania with Dr. Mark Lemmon, focusing on the structural mechanisms governing activation and inhibition of receptor tyrosine kinases. Dr. Alvarado received his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from Indiana University in 2004.

Biography

Dr. Avram is one of the leading medical authorities on cosmetic dermatology in the world. He is the Past-President of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, the leading organization in the United States for cosmetic dermatology with 6,400 physician members who elected him to this prestigious position. He has served as the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Dermatology Laser & Cosmetic Center for 18 years. He also serves as Faculty Director for Laser and Cosmetic Training in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Avram was elected by his peers and served as President of the American Society for Laser Medicine Surgery (ASLMS) in 2017-2018, the leading society in the world for laser and energy-based treatments with 4,400 members at that time. He was the 2015 recipient of the ASLMS Annual Leon Goldman Award for excellence in research, patient care, and education, and he was the 2016 recipient of the ASLMS Annual Ellet Drake Award for innovation in laser surgery.
Dr. Avram has co-authored or edited 7 textbooks that have been translated into 5 languages. He has 90 peer-reviewed publications in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine. He has served as co-investigator for five annual Best Science Awards at ASLMS. Dr. Avram has chaired 31 national meetings and has delivered over 800 invited lectures at national and international meetings on 4 continents. Dr. Avram served as co-chair for an annual laser and energy-based teaching session for the FDA in Silver Spring, Maryland for three years. He also has two U.S. patents.
This year, Dr. Avram was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the Top 10 cosmetic dermatologists in America. For 10 consecutive years, Dr. Avram has been selected as one of Boston’s Top Dermatologists by Boston Magazine. Dr. Avram is a frequent guest on ABC, NBC, CNN, CBS, FOX and is a regularly quoted medical expert in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and numerous other media publications.

Biography

Following a postdoc in cancer cell biology, Orla returned to Ireland to establish Wyeth’s nascent antibody discovery & engineering group; subsequently acquired by Pfizer. In her role at Pfizer, Orla led multi-disciplinary internal antibody discovery teams, in addition to academic collaborations with universities across Ireland & the UK. She has supported pre-clinical programs from conception through development, with many candidates currently progressing through clinical trials. Orla left big pharma for the start-up biotech world in 2020, and is currently global program lead for Alys Pharmaceuticals, focusing on next-generation mast cell targeting. Throughout her 20 year career Orla has published and patented widely in the field of therapeutic antibody engineering.

Biography

Dr. Gil has had a 30+ year career in Pharmaceutical R&D. He is CEO of Pelage Pharmaceuticals, which is conducting clinical trials on a regenerative hair growth treatment. He is also a Venture Partner with Visionary Ventures, an ophthalmology and aesthetics-focused fund. Until 2018, Dr. Gil worked at Allergan. As VP, Research Technologies and Portfolio, he oversaw preclinical to early phase 2 clinical development and directed the Medicinal Chemistry, Biologics and translational pharmacology research groups. His research contributed to development of 5 marketed drugs and he led 8 clinical development projects in the areas of Ophthalmology, Neuroscience and Dermatology. He is an inventor on more than 70 issued US patents and author on 50 peer-reviewed research articles. Dr. Gil has an undergraduate degree in Biology from Harvard University and a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Biography

Dr. Kim received his MD from the University of Washington, was a HHMI-NIH Scholar, completed residency in dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Master of Translational Research (MTR). His research focuses on mechanisms that underlie skin inflammation and the sensation of itch as a fundamental, broad, model paradigm of neuroimmunology. He has >120 peer-reviewed publications, multiple NIH grants, designed pivotal clinical trials that led to novel FDA-approved treatments, and is an inventor of itch-centered technologies. His research has led to awards and funding from NIH, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, American Skin Association, American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Clinical Investigation, American Dermatological Association, and International League of Dermatological Societies. He holds a patent for the use of JAK inhibitors for itch. He is on the SAB for Abrax Japan, Granular Therapeutics, Recens Medical, National Eczema Association, and Cell Reports Medicine.

Biography

Dr. Michael Ringel has been at BCG 25 years and is currently Managing Director and Senior Partner. He is on the Board of Hevolution US, the charitable organization focused on extending healthy aging for the benefit of all humanity, the Board of AFAR, one of the oldest organizations supporting healthy aging through biomedical research, and on the Executive Board of the Sheba Longevity Center, a clinic at one of the world’s best hospitals devoted to healthy aging. Dr. Ringel holds a B.A. summa cum laude in biology from Princeton, a Ph.D. in biology from Imperial College, and a J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Biography

Dr. Edwin Tucker has over 30 years of clinical experience leading novel drug development. He is Chief Medical Officer at Jasper Therapeutics driving clinical development in mast cell mediated diseases including urticaria and asthma. Previously, he was Chief Medical Officer at Goldfinch Bio, a nephrology development stage company. Previously, he served as Chief Medical Officer at Mirum Pharmaceuticals, where he contributed to the achievement of key milestones in the development of medicines for adult and pediatric cholestatic liver disease including the first FDA approval for Alagille Syndrome. Prior to joining Mirum, Dr. Tucker was at Acerta Pharma LLC, now part of the AstraZeneca family of companies, ultimately serving as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Acerta, he held leadership positions in development, medical safety and medical affairs at Genentech, Janssen Research and Development and Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Tucker is a member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK) and received his M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Tucker holds degrees in Pharmacology and Medicine from the University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Additionally, he served as a managing director at Golden Seeds, an investment firm dedicated to pursuing early-stage investment opportunities in women-led businesses.

Biography

Frederick C. Beddingfield III is a physician-scientist and biotech entrepreneur. He is currently an Executive Partner at Apollo Health Ventures. Previously Frederick was the CEO and member of the board of directors of Kira Pharmaceuticals, a development stage complement therapeutics biotech company focused on immunology, inflammation, and rare diseases. He was founder, president, chief executive and member of the board of directors of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals Inc. and took the company public in 2017. Prior to Sienna, Frederick served as Chief Medical Officer of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals from March 2013 until it was acquired by Allergan in 2015. Frederick worked at Allergan for 10 years (2003-2013) where he served in various roles including the Therapeutic Area Head of Dermatology and Chief Medical Officer Allergan Medical. He has led the development and approvals of global leading brands in medical dermatology, aesthetics, neurology, metabolic, and other therapeutic areas. These brands include Botox (cosmetic, hyperhidrosis, spasticity, and other), Juvederm, Voluma, Kybella, Latisse, Aczone, and Tazorac. Frederick has led four successful FDA advisor committees.

Since completing his training, Frederick has maintained a clinical and teaching practice at UCLA. He is a board-certified dermatologist and emergency medicine physician and fellowship trained in dermatologic surgery and cutaneous oncology. Frederick completed his medical degree with honors at UNC Chapel Hill, his residency and fellowship training at UCLA, and his PhD in Policy Analysis Research at RAND. He serves on the board of directors of Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc. and on the medical advisory board of the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation and Camp Wonder. He is on the board and co-founder of the Dermatology Summit and Dermatology Innovation Forum conferences, part of Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, a non-profit organization.

Biography

William Ju, MD, FAAD is a board-certified dermatologist and has over 20 years of biopharmaceutical experience in a wide variety of therapeutic areas, including dermatology. He is president and a co-founding trustee of Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, Inc. Dr. Ju has been president and chief executive officer of Follica, Inc. and chief operating officer at PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTCT). In addition, he has held executive positions at Pharmacia Corporation/Pfizer, Inc. Merck & Co., Inc., and Hoffmann La Roche, Inc. in a broad range of product development and leadership functions. Dr. Ju served as project leader for SUTENT®, introduced CANCIDAS® into humans, and was part of the product development teams for CRIXIVAN® and TRANSLARNA™.

Dr. Ju began his pharmaceutical career at Hoffmann-La Roche where he was a clinical leader for the development of dermatology compounds. Before entering industry, Dr. Ju was a senior staff fellow in basic research in the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology under Douglas Lowy, M.D. and was affiliated with the Dermatology Branch at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. He obtained his M.D. with Alpha Omega Alpha honors at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his A.B. with Phi Beta Kappa honors at Princeton University.

Biography

Seth Orlow, MD, PhD has over 25 years of experience in medicine, science, and finance. As a faculty member at New York University, Dr. Orlow rose to become Chair of its leading dermatology department. He serves as a Senior Advisor with Pharus Advisors, focused on strategic transactional/investment banking advisory services in the dermatology and personal care sectors. In 1995 he co-founded Anaderm, a dermatologic discovery company backed by Pfizer and OSI Pharmaceuticals. He participated in the sale of Anaderm to Pfizer in 2002. From 2001-2010, he rose from Advisor to Partner with Easton Capital Partners, a venture capital firm focused on healthcare and consumer products. At Easton, he was involved in the sourcing, diligence, funding, oversight and exit of investments in many healthcare companies such as Acorda, Conor Medsystems, Protez, Salmedix and Transave. Dr. Orlow has licensed technologies to companies ranging from Pfizer to SkinMedica. An author of over 200 medical/scientific publications, he is an internationally sought-after speaker and thought leader. A graduate of Harvard in Biochemical Sciences and with an MD-PhD in Molecular Pharmacology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Orlow trained in Pediatrics and Dermatology at Mt. Sinai and Yale.

Biography

Kristen B. Slaoui, PhD has been the Chief Corporate Development Officer at Galderma, the world’s largest independent global dermatology company, since 2020. Since joining Galderma, she oversaw several significant transactions including the acquisition of Alastin Skincare in 2021, adding to Galderma’s premium portfolio. Prior to this role, she spent 20 years with GSK, first in the research labs, where her work in pulmonary disease resulted in the discovery of the long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonist in the approved medicines Anoro™ Ellipta™, Incruse™ Ellipta™, and Trelegy™ Ellipta™. She holds multiple patents, has authored more than 40 original peer-reviewed publications, and she has had ongoing roles as a peer reviewer for a dozen established medical journals. She joined GSK’s Business Development team in 2006 and held various roles of increasing seniority, and executed more than $30 billion worth of deals and acquisitions, including the $3.6 billion acquisition of Stiefel Laboratories in 2009 (where she subsequently served as VP and Head of Business Development & Licensing), participating in the $20+ billion three-part transaction with Novartis in 2015, and the $5.1 bn acquisition of Tesaro in 2018, with transactions covering the pharma R&D, commercial, emerging markets, specialty pharma and consumer spaces.

Dr. Slaoui earned Bachelor’s degrees in both Biology and Classical Studies from Gettysburg College. She earned her PhD in Physiology from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and completed an NIH Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.

Biography

Qing Yu Christina Weng is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and biotech executive. She is the Chief Medical Officer of Pelage Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company developing innovative treatments for hair loss by targeting stem cell metabolism. Prior to Pelage, Christina was the Head of Business Development & Strategy and Senior Medical Director of Kira Pharmaceuticals, a global company developing complement therapeutics. Christina co-founded Mymiel, a high-performance clean skincare line, where she served as Chief Strategy Officer. As faculty at Harvard Medical School and attending dermatologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), she specializes in melanoma and pigmentary disorders.

Christina attended the California Institute of Technology, where she received her bachelor’s degrees in Biology and English with honors. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard Medical School, where she received her medical degree and was a medical fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She completed dermatology residency at the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program with advanced clinical training at the MGH Laser & Cosmetics Center. Her postdoctoral research was at the Cutaneous Biology Research Center of MGH.

Christina’s bench research has focused on melanocyte biology and mechanisms leading to pigment dysregulation, with an emphasis on clinically translatable opportunities in pigmentary disorders and melanoma. Christina’s clinical research has led to new guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology for drug monitoring. She has received research support and awards from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, American Skin Association, American Dermatological Association, and National Institutes of Health.