What to Look Forward to at the RAD Conference, with Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, and Mona Shahriari, MD

In a new interview with HCPLive, Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School and founder and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology and Immunology Research in Chicago, and Mona Shahriari, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, provided commentary on the upcoming 2025 Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) Meeting in Nashville.

“For RAD, there are a few sessions that I'm really quite excited about,” Chovatiya explained. “Not because I necessarily will be involved, though I might be, but it’s really because they're topics that have caught my interest in the last few years. I've spent a lot of time thinking and working on them. There's going to be an amazing session all about chronic hand eczema, a disease state that is really going to become relevant as we start getting therapeutics into this arena and are having more of an understanding of in this country, which historically was not at the forefront of CHE.”

Chovatiya further highlighted a session covering practical tips regarding management of atopic dermatitis as a disease. He noted that a discussion of how drugs are handled in real-world settings is something to anticipate.

“I think we always have questions like ‘Can I get my patient on less drug? Can I up the dose? Can I intermittently dose?’” Chovatiya said. “Some of these things are variably on or off-label, but it's going to be a free scenario in which people can talk about what works for them and why, and I'm looking forward to that too. Finally, I think the late breakers are going to be poised to be one of the best ones yet. Every year, we get really great abstracts at RAD that are debuting for the first time for late-breaking research.”

Shahriari responded to the question about what she anticipates at the RAD Conference, highlighting several elements of the meeting.

“Given that the [atopic dermatitis] landscape has changed so dramatically over the last several years, I think this is a nice time for us to be able to talk about not only the various treatments that we have, but also how do we optimize treatment for patients by taking those treatments and appropriately giving them to the patients that are in need,” Shahriari said. “[We’ll be] defining what is adequate control and what is that bar for efficacy that we should be reaching for?”

Shahriari further highlighted that the Nashville-based conference is going to go through the spectrum of atopic dermatitis-related topics for attendees.

“We're going to discuss the psychosocial burden of [atopic dermatitis],” Shahriari said. “I have the privilege of speaking on that aspect of the disease, but also advancements in JAK inhibitors, complex cases involving atopic dermatitis and hair loss, [as well as] some of the new therapeutic approvals,” Shahriari explained. “...We're also going to talk about some special considerations when you're treating kids with [atopic dermatitis] because there's more that goes into that dynamic besides just me and the patient. There's a caregiver and a parent involved as well.”

For any additional information about the 2 speakers’ most anticipated elements of the RAD conference, view their full discussion posted above.

The quotes contained in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.