61st Annual GSDDS Meeting
June 3-5, 2016
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra, FL

Guest Speakers

  Lynn Drake, MD
Lecturer in Dermatology
Consultant in Government and Policy
Wellman Center for Photomedicine
Department of Dermatology
Harvard Medical School

Lynn A. Drake, MD is a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School (HMS), on the Dermatology Faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Director of Business Development, Government, and Policy for the Wellman Center of Photomedicine at MGH in Boston, MA. Dr. Drake has an advanced degree in Mathematics and a degree in Chemistry. She received her MD from the University Of Tennessee College of Medicine and is Board Certified in Dermatology and Dermatopathology. Dr. Drake was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow and Congressional Fellow in Washington, DC, sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, and worked in the Senate Leadership Office of Bob Dole. She is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School (HBS) and spent a sabbatical year studying business and medicine. More recently at Director of business Development for the Wellman Center, she was instrumental in creating a unique Fund designed to invest in bio-technology in order to more readily commercialize innovations from bench to bedside.

Dr. Drake received Presidential Appointments as a U.S. Delegate to the World Health Organization, the National Policy Forum Council for Health Care Reform, and the National Advisory Board for NIAMS at the NIH. She was President of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), President of the Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS), served on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery, and as a Trustee for the Dermatology Foundation. She was a member of the AAD Board of Directors and Chaired the annual national meetings in 1994 and 1996. Dr. Drake was previously on the faculty at Emory University Medical School and also served as Chief of the Dermatology Service at the VA Medical Center in Atlanta. She was Professor & Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and was Deputy Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School where she was also the Founder and Director of the Dermatology Clinical Investigation Unit. She Chaired the FDA Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee and is a consultant to the FDA.

In 2011 Dr. Drake received the Bergfeld Award for Vision and Leadership from the WDS, followed by the Rose Hirschler Award in 2014 and the President's Award in 2015. She has been named as one of the 100 Best Doctors in America, listed in Outstanding Young Women of America, and received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and the Outstanding Alumnus Achievement Award from Adams State University in Colorado where she was the Commencement Speaker in 2009.

Dr. Drake is the recipient of several named lectureships, holds honorary membership in multiple international societies, is the author of over 100 papers, and has been a visiting professor at over 60 universities. She has presented over 400 invited national and international lectures and has been a frequent contributor to multiple media sources.





Brett Coldiron, M.D., FACP, FAAD
Brett Coldiron, MD is one of the most distinguished MOHS surgeons in the world. He has cured over 40,000 skin cancers. He has served as past President, Vice President and Secretary Treasurer of the American College of MOHS Surgery and is currently President of American Academy of Dermatology representing 18,000 dermatologists world wide. He is internationally known and frequently cited in literature and media.

Dr. Coldiron has gone to great trouble to have his office JCAHO acclaimed and is a leading advocate for patient safety.

Dr. Coldiron attended medical school at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, Kentucky. While there, he won the Lange book award for outstanding achievement as a Medical student was on the curriculum committee, chairman of the president's council, and was class president.

Dr. Coldiron returned home to Cincinnati University Hospital, to complete his first residency in Internal Medicine. He completed three years of Internal Medicine. Dr. Coldiron became interested in Dermatology and completed three years of Dermatology residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, (Parkland Memorial Hospital). While a Dermatology resident he won numerous honors, including a national scientific manuscript contest, and had several research papers Published.

He then developed a keen interest in Dermatologic surgery. Dr. Coldiron completed his Dermatology training and went on to Chicago where he completed a Mohs Micrographic surgery and Dermatologic surgery Fellowship at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He received extensive training in Mohs Micrographic surgery and other Dermatologic surgery.

Dr. Coldiron returned to his hometown of Cincinnati after completing his fellowship in July of 1989. He was Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center from 1989 - 1992.

Dr. Coldiron is currently in private practice but maintains a Clinical Assistant Professorship at the University of Cincinnati. He currently takes care of patients, teaches medical students, residents, and fellows and has several active clinical research projects. Dr. Coldiron is the founder of The Skin Cancer Center. The Skin Cancer Center is the only JACHO accredited office in Ohio dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Skin cancer.

Dr. Brett Coldiron graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky, in 1974. He was an honor student and an All State and All American football player in high school. He considers the greater Cincinnati area his hometown.

Dr. Coldiron was selected by Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana to be the recipient of the Gilbert Memorial Scholarship. The Gilbert Memorial Scholarship is, Awarded once every four years to a student who demonstrates outstanding scholarly and athletic ability. He played varsity football at Wabash College majoring in Biology. He was a Wabash Honor Scholar and elected to the student senate. In addition, he was voted the outstanding senior of Phi Delta Theta social fraternity.





Victor Cotton, MD, JD - medicolegal issues
Victor Cotton received his medical degree from The Pennsylvania State University, did his residency training in Internal Medicine on the Osler Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and received his law degree from Widener University. Dr. Cotton has practiced and taught both law and medicine, spending eight years as an internist and fifteen years as a healthcare attorney. Dr. Cotton is an experienced speaker and educator and has received "Professor of the Year" awards at both the medical and law schools where he has taught.

Dr. Cotton lives in the Hershey area with his wife, who is a cardiologist at Penn State’s University Hospital, and their four children. Dr. Cotton is also an instrument-rated pilot, who has logged more than 1500 hours of flight time and currently flies a Mooney Bravo. In his spare time, Dr. Cotton and his sons farm several hundred acres, where they grow corn and soybeans.





Pearl Kwong, MD, PhD
Pediatric dermatologist
Jacksonville, FL

Dr. Kwong is a board certified Pediatric Dermatologist in solo practice in Jacksonville FL.

She has been serving the pediatric community in Jacksonville since 2001. Prior to starting her private practice in 2006, she was head of Pediatric Dermatology at Nemours Childrens Clinic and was Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic. Prior to her moving to Jacksonville, she was head of Pediatric Dermatology at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and was Assistant Professor of Dermatology at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kwong trained in Dermatology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and her Pediatric residency at University of Alberta in Edmonton , Medical school at the University of Alberta and had completed her BSc, MSc and PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Kwong was born in the Philippines but is of Chinese descent who grew up in Canada (therefore she is not qualified to become POTUS). She has one daughter who is following tradition and is currently attending McGill University in Montreal.





Mark Cappel, MD
Assistant Professor of Dermatology
Department of Dermatology and Department of Dermatopathology
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL

Mark A. Cappel, M.D., is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology & Dermatopathology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He received his Doctor of Medicine and graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine in Hershey in 2004. He then completed his Medicine internship training at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Dr. Cappel completed his Dermatology residency training at Mayo Clinic Florida in 2008 and then Dermatopathology fellowship training at Mayo Clinic Rochester in 2009.

Dr. Cappel has since been on the staff in the Department of Dermatology at the Mayo Clinic, practicing both clinical dermatology and dermatopathology. Dr. Cappel has held positions in leadership locally in the Jacksonville Dermatology Society and in the regional Southeast for the Zola Cooper Clinical and Dermatopathologic Seminar in New Orleans. He has actively contributed to publishing multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at numerous national and international meetings. His clinical and research expertise includes dermatopathology, cutaneous lymphoma, neutrophilic dermatoses, multidisciplinary cutaneous oncology, and rare skin tumors including sebaceous neoplasms. Dr. Cappel also has a dedicated interest to resident teaching and education, and is currently the Dermatology Residency Program Director at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida.





Jonathan Kantor, MD - surgical techniques / perfect scars
A resident of northeast Florida since 2005, Dr. Kantor has developed a reputation as a clinician dedicated to the highest standards of patient care and research, and has earned the trust of local physicians and patients throughout the First Coast.

In addition to his work in Florida, Dr. Kantor is Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the nation's top-ranked academic dermatology program, and is on staff at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently ranked as one of the best hospitals in the U.S.

Dr Kantor is board certified in dermatology and dermatologic surgery by the American Board of Dermatology, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology as well as the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Dr. Kantor has published more than 25 research articles in scholarly peer-reviewed journals such as Archives of Dermatology, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the British Journal of Dermatology, Diabetes Care, and others. He has also spoken extensively at both national and international research conferences on topics ranging from melanoma detection to hair loss, wound management, and disaster relief. He serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and on the American Academy of Dermatology's Ethics Committee.

Dr. Kantor's work has also been cited in the lay press, and his research has been cited in magazines such as Prevention, Reader's Digest, Self, and Fitness.

Dr. Kantor is active in the local community, and is a recipient of the American Academy of Dermatology's Members Making a Difference Award, the highest award for volunteerism offered by the Academy.

Dr. Kantor received his B.A. in Intellectual History from the University of Pennsylvania magna cum laude and was elected Phi Beta Kappa as an undergraduate. He then pursued broader interests and was awarded a Master's degree in history and entered the Ph.D. program in history at Penn, which he left to begin his formal medical training. During his medical studies, Dr. Kantor earned a National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded fellowship in clinical epidemiology and was awarded both an M.D. as well as a Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology after his medical training. He was also elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. He then completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania followed by his dermatology residency, also at Penn, where he was appointed Chief Resident.





Jamie Weisman, MD
Jamie D. Weisman, MD grew up in Atlanta, graduated with honors from Riverwood High School and went on to attend Brown University. At Brown, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English literature and graduated magna cum laude with honors. She received a fellowship to study in Cairo, Egypt at the American University in Cairo, and then came home to attend Emory University Medical School. Dr. Weisman stayed at Emory to complete her internship and residency in dermatology. A writer as well as a physician, she is the author of the memoir, As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor. She has also published articles or been profiled in Life, Glamour, O magazine, National Public Radio and the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Weisman has participated in numerous clinical trials and has lectured on the treatment of psoriasis. Her areas of interest include not only the treatment of psoriasis but also auto-immune skin diseases, as well as general medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology, including Botox®, fillers and laser therapy.





Alex Gross, MD

Dr. Gross received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biology from Emory University and then attended medical school at the University of South Florida’s College of Medicine. Upon receiving his medical degree he completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Emory University. He then completed a dermatology residency and fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Gross is board certified in both the fields of internal medicine and dermatology.

Dr. Gross is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and the American College of Laser Medicine and Surgery.. He is a member of Annenberg Circle of the Dermatology Foundation, Atlanta Dermatological Association, and the Southern Medical Association. He is immediate past president of the Georgia Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery.

In April 2008, Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Dr. Gross to the Georgia Medical Board. Dr. Gross is past chairman of the Board and has been reappointed twice by Governor Nathan Deal.

Dr. Gross was influential in drafting and lobbying for the Georgia Cosmetic Laser Services Act that was passed in 2009 and received a US Presidential Volunteerism that same year. He received the Patient Safety Hero Award from the ASDS in 2013 and the Advocate of the Year Award from the AAD in 2015.

In addition to his full time practice as the Medical Director of the Georgia Dermatology Center in Cumming, GA, Dr. Gross is an attending physician at Northside Forsyth Hospital. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Emory University.





Harol Brody, MD
Clinical Professor of Dermatology
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA

Harold J. Brody, M.D., is a Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Brody received a B.A in Chemistry from Duke University, Durham, NC, in 1970. In 1974 Dr. Brody received his M.D at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.

Throughout his medical career Dr. Brody has contributed to several Dermatology associations including;
  • President of Atlanta Dermatological Association, 1989,
  • Senior Editor, Journal of Dermatologic Surgery & Oncology, 1991,
  • Chairman, Council on Communications, American Academy of Dermatology, 1997-2001,
  • President, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2000-2001,
  • Residents’ Best Teacher Award, Emory Department of Dermatology, 2001 and 2008,
  • President, Georgia Society of Dermatologists, 2002,
  • Board of Directors, American Academy of Dermatology, 2003-2007,
  • Dermatology Foundation Clark Finnerud National Award for Best Teacher, 2009,
  • Samuel J. Stegman Award, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2010,
  • Visiting Professor, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2012-2016,
  • President, International Peeling Society, 2016.
Dr. Brody has achieved recognition in several medical journals including being listed in ‘The Best Doctors’ in the Southeast and America and in ‘America’s Top Dermatologists’. In addition to publishing his books focusing on Chemical Peeling, he has actively contributed to research journals and publications. Dr. Brody has presented at numerous national and international meetings and engaged in multiple tv/radio/interviews.





Ivan Camacho, MD
Dr. Ivan Camacho is a Board-Certified Dermatologist with a special interest in the aging skin, cosmetic dermatology and cutaneous laser surgery.

A caring and compassionate physician, Dr. Camacho received his Medicine Doctorate with honors from Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario and completed his specialty training in Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where he was recognized to serve as Chief Resident.

Dr. Camacho performs various cosmetic procedures including neuromodulators, soft tissue fillers, chemical peels and sclerotherapy. He also provides laser treatments for rosacea, vascular lesions, pigmented lesions, sun damaged skin, and skin resurfacing for rejuvenation and scarring. Other clinical interests of Dr. Camacho’s include, early skin cancer detection and establishing appropriate skin care regimens to prevent skin cancer and aging.

Dr. Camacho is the Medical Director of the Jackson Memorial Hospital Dermatology Clinic, one of the major training sites for dermatology residents at the University of Miami; and the Director of the Senior Clerkship in Dermatology, supervising senior medical students and rotators in our department.

Dr. Camacho is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. He is also a member in good standing of numerous dermatological societies including the American Society of Mohs Surgery, the Women’s Dermatological Society, the International Society of Dermatology and the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery.