A Report on The Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) Conference
By Shonna Snyder, Research Scientist

It was 99 degrees when I touched down in Phoenix, AZ on October 23, 2024, but the venue was cool and the atmosphere as fantastic. I set up a booth to represent TMS and before the main sessions started, I visited with many other booth representatives and made some awesome connections. The Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) Conference is all about kids and their dermatological issues. People were eager to hear about the link between mast cell diseases (MCD) and dermatology in the pediatric population and had lots of questions.

I am excited to report that two kids’ camps are interested in collaborating with us to help kids from our community take part in their camp opportunities. Stay tuned for updates!

During the conference, I also spoke with a nursing association and several patient advocacy organizations who have shared goals with TMS. We exchanged ideas about better serving our populations and engaging biopharma and other funding sources in our efforts.

The highlight of the trip was my poster presentation, Utilizing A Needs Assessment to Learn about Mast Cell Diseases in the Pediatric Population. The poster session was a special event on the conference schedule. No other sessions overlapped with us and all attendees browsed the more than 80 posters before the keynote address. It was great to see so many medical students and fellows presenting or attending. I have no doubt that the future of pediatric dermatology looks very bright! I was able to educate several dermatology students about mast cell diseases, and in particular cutaneous mastocytosis in adolescents. The students were very interested to learn about this rare disease and know what to watch for in their patients. Many in attendance had never heard of MCD before visiting my poster.

As always, it was a great honor to represent TMS at this conference. My big take-away is that many young doctors currently in the pipeline are eager to treat dermatological issues in kids. This is both encouraging and a great reminder that we need to continue our efforts to help this next generation of healthcare providers understand MCD and cutaneous mastocytosis in the pediatric population.