Welcome to SOCS in the News, your go-to source for the latest media coverage on the Skin of Color Society's groundbreaking work in dermatology. This page highlights a collection of news articles, features, media coverage that showcase the innovative programs, initiatives, and advocacy efforts SOCS is leading to improve skin health for people of color. From groundbreaking research to community outreach and diversity in dermatology, explore how SOCS is making a lasting impact on the field and the lives of individuals worldwide. Stay informed about our latest achievements and the important conversations we're shaping within both the medical community and society.

Dermatology Journal Articles

Deriving from the work of the SOCS Meeting the Challenge in Research Committee, formerly the Diversity in Dermatology Clinical Trials Task Force (DiDCT):

The Skin of Color Society’s Meeting the Challenge Summit, 2022
Diversity in Dermatology Clinical Trials Proceedings, JAMA, May 24, 2023

https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/1579424
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37223905/
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371009875
https://utsouthwestern.elsevierpure.com/en/publications/the-skin-of-color-societys-meeting-the-challenge-summit-2022-dive

Integrating skin color assessments into clinical practice and research:
A review of current approaches, JAAD, 2024

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38342247/
https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/1622929
https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/dermatology_articles/884/
https://www.scilit.net/publications/2947e08799a32ad169aa3120f4b897e2

Rethinking the use of population descriptors in dermatology trials and beyond:
disentangling race and ethnicity from skin color

1. Byeon YJJ, Islamaj R, Yeganova L et al (2021) Evolving use of ancestry, ethnicity, and race in genetics research – a survey spanning seven decades. Am J Hum Genet 108:2215–2223 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
2. Mauro M, Allen DS, Dauda B, Molina SJ, Neale BM, Lewis ACF (2022) A scoping review of guidelines for the use of race, ethnicity, and ancestry reveals widespread consensus but also points of ongoing disagreement. Am J Hum Genet 109:2110–2125 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
3. Flanagin A, Frey T, Christiansen SL (2021) Updated guidance on the reporting of race and ethnicity in medical and science journals. JAMA 326:621–627 - DOI - PubMed
4. A consensus study report of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2023) Using population descriptors in genetics and genomics research: a new framework for an evolving field. National Academies, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/26902) - DOI
5. A consensus study report of The National Academies of Sciences (2024) Engineering and medicine. Rethinking race and ethnicity in biomedical research. National Academies, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/27913) - DOI
6. Cerdeña JP, Plaisime MV, Tsai J (2020) From race-based to race-conscious medicine: how anti-racist uprisings call Us to act. Lancet 396:1125–1128 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
7. Vyas DA, Eisenstein LG, Jones DS (2020) Hidden in plain sight – reconsidering the use of race correction in clinical algorithms. N Engl J Med 383:874–882 - DOI - PubMed
8. Sadeghi NB, Adamson AS (2024) The problematic legacy of skin-thickness measurement in race-based dermatology research. JAMA Dermatol 160:143–144 - DOI - PubMed
9. Hoffman KM, Trawalter S, Axt JR, Oliver MN (2016) Racial bias in pain assessment and treatment recommendations, and false beliefs about biological differences between Blacks and Whites. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113:4296–4301 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
10. A consensus study report of The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (2022) Improving representation in clinical trials and research: Building research equity for women and underrepresented groups. National Academies, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/26479) - DOI
11. Okeke CAV, Perry JD, Simmonds FC et al (2022) Clinical trials and skin of color: the example of hidradenitis suppurativa. Dermatology 238:180–184 - DOI - PubMed
12. Jablonski NG (2021) Skin color and race. Am J Phys Anthropol 175:437–447 - DOI - PubMed
13. Alaluf S, Heinrich U, Stahl W, Tronnier H, Wiseman S (2002) Dietary carotenoids contribute to normal human skin color and UV photosensitivity. J Nutr 132:399–403 - DOI - PubMed
14. Taylor SC (2002) Skin of color: biology, structure, function, and implications for dermatologic disease. J Am Acad Dermatol 46:S41–S62 - DOI - PubMed
15. Harvey VM, Alexis A, Okeke CAV et al (2024) Integrating skin color assessments into clinical practice and research: a review of current approaches. J Am Acad Dermatol 91:1189–1198 - DOI - PubMed
16. Goon P, Banfield C, Bello O, Levell NJ (2021) Skin cancers in skin types IV–VI: does the Fitzpatrick scale give a false sense of security? Skin Health Dis 1:e40 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
17. Chan JL, Ehrlich A, Lawrence RC, Moshell AN, Turner ML, Kimball AB (2005) Assessing the role of race in quantitative measures of skin pigmentation and clinical assessments of photosensitivity. J Am Acad Dermatol 52:609–615 - DOI - PubMed
18. Ramamoorthy A, Pacanowski MA, Bull J, Zhang L (2015) Racial/ethnic differences in drug disposition and response: review of recently approved drugs. Clin Pharmacol Ther 97:263–273 - DOI - PubMed
19. Mineroff J, Nguyen JK, Jagdeo J (2023) Racial and ethnic underrepresentation in dermatology clinical trials. J Am Acad Dermatol 89:293–300 - DOI - PubMed
20. Sjoding MW, Dickson RP, Iwashyna TJ, Gay SE, Valley TS (2020) Racial bias in pulse oximetry measurement. N Engl J Med 383:2477–2478 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
21. Pulse oximeters – premarket notification submissions [510(k)s]: guidance for industry and Food and Drug Administration staff. Rockville, MD: Food and Drug Administration, March 4, 2013. ( https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents...)
22. Chen V, Akhtar S, Zheng C, Kumaresan V, Nouri K (2022) Assessment of changes in diversity in dermatology clinical trials between 2010–2015 and 2015–2020: a systematic review. JAMA Dermatol 158:288–292 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
23. Ng MY, Youssef A, Miner AS et al (2023) Perceptions of data set experts on important characteristics of health data sets ready for machine learning: a qualitative study. JAMA Netw Open 6:e2345892 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
24. Wen D, Khan SM, Ji Xu A et al (2022) Characteristics of publicly available skin cancer image datasets: a systematic review. Lancet Digit Health 4:e64–e74 - DOI - PubMed
25. Kamulegeya L, Bwanika J, Okello M et al (2023) Using artificial intelligence on dermatology conditions in Uganda: a case for diversity in training data sets for machine learning. Afr Health Sci 23:753–763 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
26. Benčević M, Habijan M, Galić I, Babin D, Pižurica A (2024) Understanding skin color bias in deep learning-based skin lesion segmentation. Comput Methods Programs Biomed 245:108044 - DOI - PubMed
27. Perreira KM, Wassink J, Harris KM (2019) Beyond race/ethnicity: skin color, gender, and the health of young adults in the united States. Popul Res Policy Rev 38:271–299 - DOI - PubMed
28. Bissonnette R, Jankicevic J, Saint-Cyr Proulx E, Maari C (2023) Ethnicity, race and skin color: challenges and opportunities for atopic dermatitis clinical trials. J Clin Med 12:3805 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
29. Borrell LN, Elhawary JR, Fuentes-Afflick E et al (2021) Race and genetic ancestry in medicine – a time for reckoning with racism. N Engl J Med 384:474–480 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
30. FDA guidance provides new details on diversity action plans required for certain clinical studies Silver Spring, MD: Food and Drug Administration, June 26, 2024. ( https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-guidance-provide...)
31. Chung HJ, Jablon K, Dawkins O, Richardson M, Ho JD (2023) The frequency of reporting race, ethnicity, and skin phototypes in dermatology case reports. JAAD Int 12:39–41 - DOI - PubMed - PMC