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Chairman and Professor of Dermatology
Ludwig-Maximilians University Hospital, Munich

Prof. Dr. med. Lars E French MD is a clinician-scientist and the current Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Allergology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich). Between October 2006 and 2018 he was Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Zürich University Hospital in Switzerland.

Professor French graduated from the University of Geneva and trained in internal medicine, basic research, and dermatology at the University of Geneva. He rapidly established his own research group in investigative dermatology alongside clinical activities at the Department of Dermatology of the University of Geneva under the direction of Professor Saurat with the support of a career development award from the Swiss National Science Foundation, before spending a year as visiting professor at the Department of Dermatology of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, and then being nominated as Louis-Jeantet Professor of Medicine at the University of Geneva (2002-2006). 

Between October 2006 and 2018, Professor French chaired the Department of Dermatology of the Zurich University Hospital, a leading Dermatology Department in Europe, and the largest in Switzerland with 160 employees, over 70’000 yearly specialized outpatient consultations, 1100 dermatology inpatient hospitalizations (36 Dermatology inpatient service beds) and high-level expertise in the diagnosis and therapy of skin disease. Since November 2019 Professor French chairs the Department of Dermatology and Allergology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, one of the largest in Europe with over 80’000 yearly specialized outpatient consultations, and 3000 dermatology inpatient hospitalizations (110 Dermatology inpatient service beds).  

Professor French and his team are engaged in competitive research and development in the field of inflammatory skin disease and tumor immunology. He is author of over 250 original publications with an h-index of 49, and over 10000 citations. His research is or has been actively funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Cancer League and the European Union amongst others. In 2012 Professor French was awarded the Otto Naegeli Prize for the promotion of medical research, one of Switzerland's most prestigious scientific awards.

Professor French is recognized at an international level through his activities as board-member, Secretary-Treasurer and past-President of the European Society of Dermatological Research (ESDR), past-Treasurer and President of the European Dermatology Forum, Member of the German Academy of Science Leopoldina, past Vice-President of the Swiss Society for Dermatology and Venereology, and current President of the International league of Dermatological Societies (ILDS). 

David E. Fisher, MD, PhD, is chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology. He also serves as director of Mass General’s Cutaneous Biology Research Center, director of the Melanoma Center and as Chair of the MGH Executive Committee on Research. A professor of dermatology and of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Fisher came to Mass General from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he previously directed the melanoma program. Dr. Fisher’s research has focused on understanding the molecular and genetic events which underlie formation of melanoma as well as skin pigmentation. As a clinician, he has worked to translate these understandings into advances in diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human diseases related to the skin and associated disorders.

A graduate of Swarthmore College with a degree in biology and chemistry, Dr. Fisher is also an accomplished concert cellist and graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He received his doctorate under Nobel Laureate Gunter Blobel and Henry Kunkel at Rockefeller University and his medical degree at Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Fisher’s specialty training in Medicine, Pediatrics and Oncology were carried out at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. His research contributions include elucidation of the pathway through which UV radiation induces pigmentation, identification of MITF as master transcriptional regulator in melanocytes and melanoma oncogene, novel approaches to melanoma treatment and prevention, and discovery of the link between ultraviolet radiation and addictive behaviors. Dr. Fisher has trained a large number of researchers, many of whom have gone on to positions of leadership in academic institutions throughout the world.