Lawrence Schachner, MD, Reflects on Career, Mentorship, and Innovation

Lawrence Schachner, MD, chair and professor emeritus at the University of Miami Department of Dermatology, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Alvin H. Jacobs Award by the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Dermatology. The award recognizes a lifetime of achievement and contribution to the field of pediatric dermatology, and was presented to him at the 50th Annual Society for Pediatric Dermatology Meeting.

Schachner, a “40 plus year member of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology,” has held numerous leadership positions, including serving as president of the SPD and chair of the AAP section on pediatric dermatology. He reflected on the honor, stating, “It’s exceedingly humbling. Alvin Jacobs was a founding father of this society. He was the first president, and he was one who helped make the ethos of this society one in which the newest, youngest people were welcomed, nurtured, mentored, given time at the podium, myself included.”

His career began in pediatrics, where he noticed a striking gap in dermatologic knowledge among his colleagues. “If there was a kid with a cardiac problem or seizures or asthma or sepsis, the faculty was spectacular… but if a child came in with a bad cutaneous problem, the faculty disappeared like rats, leaving a ship because they didn’t know anything.” Motivated to fill this void, he pursued dermatology training, discovering a deep appreciation for the specialty: “Every rash had looked the same before, but now I can start learning and seeing what the different reactions in the skin were.”

Schachner emphasized the value of dual training in pediatrics and dermatology, noting, “I think it’s important to get grounding in both pediatrics and dermatology… so when you get into derm, you really have this fund of knowledge about the pediatric side that allows you to be best pediatric dermatologist you can possibly be.”

His long career spans some of the most transformative advancements in pediatric dermatology. “I’ve seen isotretinoin, Accutane, help kids with cystic acne when we had nothing. I’ve seen repurposing of propranolol for kids with hemangioma of infancy. I’ve seen the biologics, the JAKs... Now we have topical calcineurin inhibitors. We have new phosphodiesterases that are very powerful... It’s a thrilling time.”

Schachner also co-authored Schachner and Hansen’s Pediatric Dermatology, a foundational text in the field. “When Ron Hansen and I were asked to do the first textbook, we were 4 or 5 years out of residency… We approached 30 of the members of the society… 27 said yes. And did spectacular work for 2 relative rookies. They trusted us.”

He closed his reflection by acknowledging the collegial spirit of the SPD. “My heroes and heroines are in that room, or they’re in my memory. A few of them are gone, but I can still hear them, see them in my mind… I’ve learned an enormous amount of pediatric dermatology and life from them.”