Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, Inc. is pleased to announce the expansion of our Board of Trustees. Joining our founding members, William Ju, MD; Brian N. Cunningham, MD; and William Eaglstein, MD, are a group of distinguished professionals whose expertise spans dermatological research, entrepreneurship, and pharmaceutical company leadership.
This expansion enhances our capacity to foster innovation and support for emerging leaders and organizations within dermatology. The diverse perspectives and vast experience of our new Trustees will be instrumental in advancing our mission to accelerate cutting-edge product development and shape the future of skin health. Please join us in welcoming our new Trustees.
Sagesse Bio
Frederick C. Beddingfield III is a physician-scientist and biotech entrepreneur. He is currently an Executive Partner at Apollo Health Ventures. Frederick is also Chairman of the Board and Founder of Sagesse Bio, a novel treatment for facial and body contouring and removing unwanted localized fat. Previously Frederick was the CEO and member of the board of directors of Kira Pharmaceuticals, a development-stage complement therapeutics biotech company focused on immunology, inflammation, and rare diseases. He was founder, president, chief executive, and member of the board of directors of Sienna Biopharmaceuticals Inc. and took the company public in 2017. Prior to Sienna, Frederick served as Chief Medical Officer of Kythera Biopharmaceuticals from March 2013 until it was acquired by Allergan in 2015. Frederick worked at Allergan for 10 years (2003-2013) where he served in various roles including the Therapeutic Area Head of Dermatology and Chief Medical Officer Allergan Medical. He has led the development and approvals of global leading brands in medical dermatology, aesthetics, neurology, metabolic, and other therapeutic areas. These brands include Botox (cosmetic, hyperhidrosis, spasticity, and others), Juvederm, Voluma, Kybella, Latisse, Aczone, and Tazorac. Frederick has led four successful FDA advisory committees.
Since completing his training, Frederick has maintained a clinical and teaching practice at UCLA. He is a board-certified dermatologist and emergency medicine physician and fellowship trained in dermatologic surgery and cutaneous oncology. Frederick completed his medical degree with honors at UNC Chapel Hill, his residency and fellowship training at UCLA, and his PhD in Policy Analysis Research at RAND. He serves on the board of directors of Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc., and on the medical advisory board of the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation and Camp Wonder.
Michael Girardi, MD, FAAD
Evans Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Development & Scientific Innovation
Department of Dermatology
Yale School of Medicine
Dr. Girardi is the endowed Evans Professor and Vice Chair of Faculty Development & Scientific Innovation for the Department of Dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Girardi's NIH-funded research program of over 20 years has significantly advanced our understanding of cutaneous lymphoma, cutaneous immunology, and cutaneous carcinogenesis. His work, featured in journals such as Science, Nature, Nature Immunology, Nature Genetics, Nature Biomaterials, and PNAS, has resulted in hundreds of papers with over 11,300 total citations. The holder of seven biomedical patents, plus four more pending, Dr. Girardi is dedicated to translating scientific discoveries into tangible applications. His global impact is evident in leadership roles on the Research Leadership Council for Advancing Innovation in Dermatology, the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium, and the International Society of Cutaneous Lymphoma. Dr. Girardi's influence extends beyond research to mentorship, where he has guided over 50 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research fellows, many of whom have become academic leaders in dermatology. His mentees have received prestigious awards and include two Howard Hughes Fellowship recipients and five Yale School of Medicine Thesis Award recipients. Dr. Girardi's commitment to innovation and mentorship is further reflected in his active involvement with the Yale Dermatology’s Faculty Mentorship Committee where he advises junior faculty on career development and early career awards, and his role as Co-Director of Yale Dermatology’s NIH grant in physician-scientist training. With a diverse educational background including graduating magna cum laude from Brown University with a dual degree in Biology and Computer Science and the Honors Thesis Award along an MD from the Yale School of Medicine, and many awards such as a two-time recipient of a Yale Blavatnik Award in Innovation and induction into to the American Association of Professors and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Girardi is a foremost leader in dermatological research, innovation, and mentorship.
Aimee Payne, MD, PhD, FAAD
Herbert and Florence Irving Professor and Chair of Dermatology
Columbia University
Dr. Payne is the Herbert and Florence Irving Professor and Chair of Dermatology at Columbia University. She received her B.S. degree in Biology from Stanford University and an M.D./Ph.D. degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Washington University School of Medicine, followed by dermatology residency and postdoctoral fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research laboratory focuses on mechanisms and treatments of autoimmunity, with a particular focus on B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases including pemphigus and myasthenia gravis. Her laboratory invented a targeted immunotherapy approach for antigen-specific B cell depletion known as chimeric autoantibody receptor T-cell (CAAR-T) therapy and performed key studies leading to FDA clearance of two Investigational New Drug Applications for CAAR-T technology.
Dr. Payne serves as the 2024-2025 President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology and co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at Cabaletta Bio, a company she co-founded to enable the first precision cellular immunotherapies for autoimmunity to enter human clinical trials. Her work has been recognized with the Eugene J. Van Scott Award for Innovative Therapy, Top 10 Clinical Research Forum Award, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation Nancy Law Impact Award, and election to the American Society of Clinical Investigation.
Steve Xu MD, MSc, FAAD
Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder
Sibel Health
Dr. Xu is currently the CEO and co-founder of Sibel Health – an award-winning digital health company spun out of his research and the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics of Northwestern University. He also holds the position of the Ruth K. Freinkel MD Professor at Northwestern University and Medical Director of the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics at Northwestern University. He received his undergraduate degree in bioengineering from Rice University summa cum laude. He completed his medical training at Harvard Medical School with special honors as a Soros Fellow, and a Masters in Health Policy and Finance with Merit from The London School of Economics as a Marshall Scholar. Dr. Xu has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications and is listed as an inventor on 15 pending and granted patents. His work has been funded by the NIH, DoD, FDA, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He has developed numerous digital health technologies applied broadly across numerous clinical indications. His publications have appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Nature, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, garnering press attention from sources such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. His technologies have garnered four FDA-clearances and launched in 20 countries across 6 continents.