Our Work

Below, we’ve provided highlights showcasing how much the International Eczema Council has achieved since inception.  

SYMPOSIA

2026 Planned Events

We are planning five in-person educational symposia in 2026! Attendance is complimentary and live symposia are recorded to create easily accessible, enduring educational content on our website. On-demand education remains available to clinicians worldwide at their convenience.

The programs for 2026 are:

• Psoriasis or Dermatitis? When boundaries blur and treatments flip the script at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, USA. 
• Decoding the dialogue: Mechanistic perspectives on host-pathogen interactions at the Society For Investigative Dermatology (SID) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, USA
• Atopic dermatitis in adults: diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and therapeutic approaches at the Reunión Annual de Dermatólogos Latinoamericanos (RADLA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Eczema and Psoriasis Research Incubator: Cross-Disciplinary Innovation Forum at the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) in Heidelberg, Germany
• The Relevance of Clinical Trials and Real-World Data at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) in Vienna, Austria

Industry gatherings will be held in conjunction with our educational symposia. When you join one of our IEC Corporate Councils, you’ll be invited to take part in these special events that bring together important members of industry like you with the global AD leaders from around the world. Meeting face to face, you’ll discuss current issues, including work being undertaken by the IEC at the time, and have time to ask questions of our Leadership. These  meetings give the experts on both sides—industry professionals and clinical/research experts—to check in on current AD treatment work, developments, concerns, and needs from the top minds around the world. 

2026 Highlights:

• Presented four live educational symposia and launched an innovative Research Incubator event in partnership with major dermatology and allergy meetings across three continents. Expanded collaboration with the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) through two joint educational events, increasing visibility and engagement opportunities for industry partners.
• Psoriasis or Dermatitis? When boundaries blur and treatments flip the script at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, USA. 
• Decoding the dialogue: Mechanistic perspectives on host-pathogen interactions at the Society For Investigative Dermatology (SID) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL, USA
• Atopic dermatitis in adults: diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and therapeutic approaches at the Reunión Annual de Dermatólogos Latinoamericanos (RADLA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Eczema and Psoriasis Research Incubator: Cross-Disciplinary Innovation Forum at the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) in Heidelberg, Germany
• The Relevance of Clinical Trials and Real-World Data at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) in Vienna, Austria
• Continued growth across Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube, and other digital channels, expanding the reach of trusted atopic dermatitis information.
• Developed the IEC YouTube Learning Library, providing free access to nearly 150 expert presentations for healthcare professionals and researchers worldwide.
• Published the IEC’s 25th peer-reviewed article, International Eczema Council Definitions of Low Disease Activity and Remission in Atopic Dermatitis: A Consensus Statement, in JAMA Dermatology.
• Expanded IEC membership to 189 Council members representing 39 countries across six global regions.

2025 Highlights: 

• Six live symposia in which clinicians, researchers, and patients took the stage to share their experiences. 
• The Impact of Environmental, Food, and Contact Allergies on Atopic Dermatitis at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting in San Diego, CA, USA. 
• Converging Pathways: Atopic Dermatitis and Alopecia Areata  at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL, USA. 
• Lessons Learned: Practical Strategies for Preventing, Treating and Managing Atopic Dermatitis in Pediatric Populations at the World Congress of Pediatric Dermatology (WCPD) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 
• Multiomics at the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) in San Diego, CA, USA. 
• Atopic Dermatitis and Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma  at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) in Paris, France. 
• IEC at the Inflammatory Skin Disease Summit 2025

• Industry members were invited to join our Council at two private events—a meeting in March in the U.S., and a reception in September in France. Council members and industry partners were able to reconnect face to face and to get the inside track on the IEC’s current work. 

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  We built a robust social media presence, actively posting to Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube, to communicate accurate, cutting-edge information on atopic dermatitis to healthcare professionals, industry members, and patients worldwide. 
• We welcomed new IEC Fellows in the IEC Fellowship program, which connects early-career clinicians and researchers with leaders in the specialty, creating bonds and learning across continents and fostering a passion for atopic dermatitis care in the next generation. Meet all of our Fellows at EczemaCouncil.org/iec-fellows.
• Welcomed PhD holders as members, an official acknowledgement that researchers and clinicians both play important roles in advancing atopic dermatitis care. The response to this expansion has been excellent, and the IEC has already benefited from the PhDs that have joined our Council. 
• Welcomed 13 additional Councilors and 17 Associates in 2025, increasing our representation to 181 members in 37 countries on six continents.

2024 Highlights:

• Six live symposia 
• Topicals in the Pipeline: New and Emerging Therapies at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA
• Infections and Immunization in AD patients at the Reunión Annual de Dermatólogos Latinoamericanos (RADLA) in Lima, Peru
• What's New in Pathogenesis & Mechanisms at the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) in Dallas, Texas
• Safety of JAK Inhibitors our inaugural presentation at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) in Valencia, Spain
• Biomarkers, Endophenotpying, Precision Medicine at the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) in Lisbon, Portugal
• Chronic Hand Eczema at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Council members and our industry partners spent time together at three invitation-only, in-person industry gatherings in 2024. These events enabled networking and ensured both Council members and industry partners were up to date on IEC work. 
• We expanded the IEC Fellowship program with the addition of an international program that places new Fellows with mentors in multiple countries.
• We are making great tactical progress on the new 3-year IEC Strategic Plan our Board adopted in late 2023. The plan groups our goals related to engagement and growth, awareness, research, and education. Learn more about the IEC Strategic Plan and see how our organizations’ missions align.
• We welcomed 15 additional Councilors and 8 Associates in 2024, increasing our representation to 151 members in 33 countries on six continents.

2023 Highlights:

• Seven live symposia on four continents (Asia, Europe, North America, and South America):

• New Developments in Atopic Dermatitis and Implications for the Atopic March as the IEC's inaugural symposium at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting in San Antonio, TX
• Prurigo Nodularis at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA
• Pathophysiological Insights into AD and New Therapeutic Developments at the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) meeting in Tokyo, Japan
• Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Treatment of Atopic Co-morbidities in AD Patients at the Reunión Annual de Dermatólogos Latinoamericanos (RADLA) in Curitiba, Brazil
• Non-Atopic Challenges in Atopic Dermatitis at the World Congress of Dermatology in Singapore
• Pruritus in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) meeting in Berlin, Germany
• Basic Research Techniques in AD at the Inflammatory Skin Disease Summit (ISDS) in Vienna, Austria
• We held three invitation-only industry gatherings in 2023, with attendance exclusive to Council members and our industry partners. The first two were in person in conjunction with our educational symposia; the last was a virtual event, as requested by our leaders and Councilors so that they can more easily participate in these events, even when unable to travel. During these events, our industry partners like you network with our Council members and leaders, get a sneak peek at our work before the public does, and are able to ask questions of the leadership and Council members. 

2022 Highlights:

• Five international symposia
• Diagnosis and Management of Non-Atopic Forms of Dermatitis in Atopic Dermatitis Patients at AAD (Boston, MA)
• Virtual Meeting: What's new in Atopic Dermatitis?, our inaugural presentation at RADLA 
  
• Microbiome at SID (Portland, OR), a reprise of the well received 2018 program 
• Customizing the Treatment of AD for Diverse Populations at EADV (Milan, Italy)
• Single Cell Technologies Applicable to Atopic Eczema at ESDR (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

• Report on the Global Burden of Atopic Dermatitis Launched October 18, 2022: The IEC collaborated to launch the Global Atopic Dermatitis Atlas (GADA; atopicdermatitisatlas.org), the first report on the global burden of atopic dermatitis. The project was led by Carsten Flohr, a member of the IEC Board of Directors, and was the result of collaboration between the IEC, the International Society for Atopic Dermatitis, the European Taskforce for Atopic Dermatitis, the International League of Dermatological Societies, and the International Alliance of Dermatology Patient Organizations (Global Skin). GADA summarizes the disease burden, impact on patients’ and their families’ lives, geographical gaps in prevalence data, and available treatments. It assesses inequalities in access to therapeutics in lower resource settings and provides horizon scanning on novel treatment approaches.

2021 Highlights: 

• We hosted our inaugural virtual Residents Meeting and in-person symposium, ALOPECIA AREATA AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS at the ISDS meeting in New York, NY, USA 
• Hand Eczema virtual symposium
• BIOMARKERS virtual symposium at SID
• HUMAN MODELS OF ATOPIC DERMATITIS virtual symposium at ESDR 
• MANAGEMENT OF PEDIATRIC ATOPIC DERMATITIS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE virtual symposium at WCPD
• ATOPIC DERMATITIS INVOLVING THE FACE AND SENSITIVE AREAS virtual symposium at EADV
• The IEC also partnered with Medscape to develop the program “The Atopic Dermatitis Learning Center: Riding the Next Wave,” featuring six engaging online clinician interventions designed to address these topics, plus a patient activity that offering a patient perspective on AD. This project was supported by a grant from Eli Lilly.

2020 Highlights:

• We developed and launched a new education program, IEC Virtual Learning Series, in response to the pandemic. The series included Management of AD Patients on Systemic Treatments during COVID-19, a webinar
• We presented other virtual education programs, including NOVEL SYSTEMIC TREATMENTS FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS AND CLINICAL TRIAL DESIGN and New Treatments for Atopic Dermatitis in Infants and Children
• IEC developed an online Covid-19 and AD resource center.

2019 Highlights:

• Live symposia:

• ATOPIC DERMATITIS AND ALOPECIA AREATA: COMPARISON AND CONTRAST, presented in conjunction with the National Alopecia Areata Foundation, at AAD (Washington, DC, USA)
• BARRIER IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS at SID (Chicago, IL, USA)
• NEW TOPICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND PREVENTIVE MECHANISMS at WCD (Milan, Italy) 

2018 Highlights:

• Live symposia:
• MICROBIOME at AAD (San Diego, CA, USA)
• PHENOTYPE-GENOTYPE CORRELATIONS AND PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS at IID (Orlando, FL, USA). Four abstracts on AD and the Roadmap to AD at IID also were provided.
• ATOPIC DERMATITIS COMORBIDITIES at EADV (Paris, France)
• ATOPIC DERMATITIS PHENOTYPES AND BIOMARKERS at ISDS (Vienna, Austria) 

2017 Highlights:

• The IEC’s first meeting in Asia was held in December 2017 at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (JSID) in Kochi, Japan. 
• Live symposia: 
• ATOPIC DERMATITIS RESEARCH at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (JSID) in Kochi, Japan, the IEC's first in Asia. 
• EVOLVING PERSPECTIVES ON PSORIASIS AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS: ARE THEY TWO DISEASES OR ONE SPECTRUM?, presented jointly with the International Psoriasis Council, at AAD (Orlando, FL)
• PRECISE CONTROL OF SKIN BARRIER HOMEOSTASIS, plus five abstracts and the Roadmap for AD, at SID (Portland, OR)
• PRURITUS, NEUROINFLAMMATION AND THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES at EADV (Geneva, Switzerland)
• ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN ATOPIC DERMATITIS at ESDR (Salzburg, Austria)

• IEC’s inaugural seminar, “Atopic Dermatitis and Personalized Medicine: Phenotyping for Classification and Predicting Co-Morbidities,” was held at the 2016 AAD annual meeting.
• Other live symposia from that year include:
• PSORIASIS AND ATOPIC DERMATITIS:  SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES  presented in conjunction with the International Psoriasis Council, at ISDS (New York, NY, USA). Actual patients and patients’ parents took part in the presentation and roundtable discussions.
• ATOPIC DERMATITIS: PATIENT AND PHYSICIAN PERSPECTIVES at EADV (Vienna, Austria) 

IEC PUBLICATIONS

Councilors and Associates develop manuscripts on cutting-edge topics for publication in prestigious high-impact journals. This ensures the work of our experts is disseminated to advance patient care worldwide. To expand the reach of these insights, the IEC makes the articles open access whenever possible. Access the articles at EczemaCouncil.org/iec-publications.

Our members are working on six manuscripts that will be submitted for publication in major peer-reviewed journals. These articles, like the 23 we have already published, ensure we continue to use our shared knowledge to educate healthcare professionals around the world. The manuscript topics range from defining low disease activity levels to using AI to reduce variability and bias. 

Access Published IEC Manuscripts

OTHER RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

• The IEC launched a fellowship program in 2021 to provide qualified candidates with opportunities to work with expert AD dermatologists (IEC Councilors) in clinical and research settings. In 2022, the IEC arranged two clinical fellowships. Currently, the program matches fellows from around the world with IEC Councilors in the USA, and work is underway to expand the program into Canada. In 2023, we chose the first IEC Fellow for our new research fellowship program in partnership with the Montreal Dermatology Research Institute. Taking place in Canada, this is our second fellowship program but our first outside of the US. The IEC Fellowship program also welcomed its second round of fellows to the US in 2023 for clinical and research positions. Both programs encourage international and local applicants. Inaugural participants have praised the new program. In 2024 with the addition of the IEC International Clinical Fellowship and the IEC International Research Fellowship. Through both programs, applicants have the opportunity to be paired with an IEC Councilor in one of 8 countries. Existing IEC Fellowships had placed early-career physicians from around the world with Councilors in the U.S. or Canada. These additions increase the IEC’s fellowship program opportunities to five. With a growing cohort of Fellows, the IEC also created a page on its website to showcase the physicians who have benefited from this program. Please contact IEC CEO Alan Stiles if you would like to fund a fellowship opportunity. Learn More. 
• Dr. Fabio Nunes and Eli Lilly and Company spearheaded the project to develop the validated Investigator’s Global Assessment for Atopic Dermatitis (vIGA-ADTM) scale in which many other pharma companies joined in (e.g., Galderma, Abbvie.) More than a dozen IEC members developed a new IGA, calibrated it, validated it, and made it a teaching program so that it can be widely used for clinical trials. Access the scale.
• The IEC’s educational modules for AD clinical investigators were developed by Eric Simpson and GlaxoSmithKline LLC, who have made them available to the IEC. The topic areas covered are: 1) Calculating % Body Surface Area (BSA) and Eczema Area Severity Index (EASI) Score, and 2) Target Lesion Severity Score (TLSS) for the Assessment of AD. The content of the modules can be viewed with certified training available at ieclearning.com through WCG Trifecta. The IEC appreciates the following for making these resources available to the clinical community: Steve Frey, Tomoko Maeda-Chubachi, Eric Simpson, Fabio P. Nunes, Eli Lilly and Company, and GlaxoSmithKline LLC. These modules are undergoing revision and updating via a renewed contract with our colleagues at WCG Trifecta.
• The IEC has posted ranked AD-related publications each year to provide professionals with quick access to the most important journal articles on the topic, as determined by IEC Councilors and Associates. View the Top Atopic Dermatitis Articles.