Miller School Dermatologist Honored at 9th World Congress on Itch

Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., professor of dermatology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was honored at the 9th World Congress on Itch (WCI), held October 15-17 at Wroclaw Medical University in Poland.

From left, Gil Yosipovitch, M.D., and Professor Dr. Lidia Rudnicka, president of the Polish Dermatological Society, receive medals from Professor Dr. Marek Zietek, rector of Wroclaw Medical University, at the 9th World Congress on Itch.

Yosipovitch and Professor Dr. Lidia Rudnicka, president of the Polish Dermatological Society, received the Medal of Wroclaw Medical University at the opening ceremony of the international congress, which drew 320 clinicians and researchers from around the world.

“This wonderful award, previously achieved by some of the greatest minds in medicine and science, is a powerful reminder of how lucky the University of Miami is to have Dr. Yosipovitch on our faculty and how fortunate our patients are to receive his care and have an opportunity to be involved in his research program,” said Robert S Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman and Harvey Blank Professor in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, professor of public health sciences, and director of the University of Miami Hospital Wound Center.

Yosipovitch founded the first World Conference on Itch in 2001 in Singapore. Four years later, he founded and served as the first president of the International Forum for the Study of Itch, a multidisciplinary international association that organizes the biennial conferences.

“Our organization has grown steadily through the years, reflecting the growing interest in this field,” he said.

The three-day congress in Poland addressed issues in dermatology, internal medicine, neurology and psychosomatics, as well as neuroscience and all other fields of related experimental medicine, according to Professor Dr. Jacek C Szepietowski, head of the Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology at Wroclaw Medical University.

Yosipovitch facilitated several sessions at the WCI. He and three other Miller School researchers — Tasuku Akiyama, Ph.D., Leigh Nattkemper, Ph.D., and graduate student Kristen Sanders — presented papers and gave talks at the meeting.

At the Miller School, Yosipovitch has focused his clinical practice and research on chronic itch, atopic eczema, psoriasis and complex medical dermatology. He directs the Miami Itch Center, one of the nation’s only comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinics dedicated to the diagnosis and management of a variety of conditions, including atopic eczema, psoriasis, prurigo nodularis, and neuropathic itch.

Yosipovitch and his researchers are highly engaged in the process of turning scientific findings into new forms of diagnosis and treatment for patients.

Tags: dermatology, Gil Yosipovitch, itch, Miami Itch Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Wroclaw Medical University