Day 3 Recap: Elevate-Derm Summer Conference 2025

The third day of Elevate Derm Summer is complete! Check out our Day 3 recap below. To stay informed with the latest insights live from Park City, Utah, subscribe to receive our eNewsletters.

Ata Moshiri, MD, MPH, FAAD, on Melanonychia Biopsy Cues and AI's Role in Dermatopathology

At the Elevate-Derm Summer 2025 Conference, Ata Moshiri, MD, MPH, FAAD, assistant professor of dermatology and dermatopathology at NYU Langone and Director of Laboratory Operations and the Dermatopathology Fellowship, offered essential clinical insights into his session on melanonychia. In a conversation with Dermatology Times, he also shared some exciting artificial intelligence (AI) research.

In his talk, "Melanonychia: When to Biopsy & How to Decide," Moshiri emphasized that while longitudinal melanonychia (dark pigmented bands running along the nail) often raises concern for nail melanoma, most cases are benign. However, identifying worrisome features is crucial. Key indicators that a biopsy may be necessary include new-onset melanonychia in older individuals, especially if limited to a single digit, most notably the thumb or big toe. Additional red flags are bands wider than three millimeters, triangular or irregular shapes, pigmentation extending into the nail folds (known as Hutchinson's sign), and any associated nail plate dystrophy.

How Dermatology is Revolutionizing Cancer Care, According to Anisha Patel, MD

“There's a lot of different ways that skin can be important in the cancer patient... we're excited to be able to be productive members of a patient's cancer care team,” Anisha Patel, MD, said in an interview with Dermatology Times.

At the Elevate-Derm Summer 2025 Meeting, Patel, a dermatologist and dermatopathologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, delivered 2 compelling sessions that spotlighted dermatology’s pivotal role in cancer diagnosis and treatment. In her lecture “Skin as a Window: Identifying Cancer Syndromes Through Cutaneous Clues,” Patel outlined how skin manifestations can serve as critical indicators of internal malignancy. She organized her talk into three categories: paraneoplastic syndromes, genodermatoses, and cutaneous metastases.

Demystifying Isotretinoin Prescriptions and Introducing the SkinSync Podcast

“I have been a dermatology PA for 23 years and have always prescribed isotretinoin and always will. It is absolutely a game-changing and life-changing medication for our patients with recalcitrant acne, or for scarring cystic acne,” said Shanna Miranti, MPAS, PA-C, in an interview at the 2025 Elevate-Derm Summer Conference.

Miranti, a board-certified physician assistant at Riverchase Dermatology in Naples, Florida, and a Dermatology Times editorial advisory board member, presented her tips for prescribing isotretinoin for patients with acne, as well as her involvement in the new SkinSync podcast with Elevate-Derm Alliance.

Dermatology Times is also attending the 2025 Society for Pediatric Dermatology annual meeting and the DERM 2025 NP/PA Conference this weekend. Turn on our social media notifications and keep up with all the latest conference coverage here.