GADA Newsletter: Issue #3

What's in this newsletter

We're excited to share our achievements over the past six months, along with updates on our progress, new collaborations, and upcoming events across workstreams. Whether you're new to the project or keeping an eye on what's ahead, we hope you find this issue informative and engaging.

Thank you for being an essential part of our journey.

Highlights

  • Celebrating 18-months of LebRAD: We marked 18-months of recruitment for the Lebanese Register for Atopic Dermatitis (LebRAD), a major milestone in advancing regional data, collaboration, and patient-centred insights.

  • Sharing Our Expertise Worldwide: Our team and collaborators delivered cutting-edge presentations at major international conferences including the American Academy of Dermatology, showcasing our latest findings and strengthening global partnerships.

  • Global Consensus Success: We completed the international e-Delphi for EPISTAR, driving forward the GADA International Consensus Exercise and uniting experts to shape future standards.

  • Research Spotlight: GADA Omics has been investigating the complex ecosystems of microorganism on atopic dermatitis.

Image shows Professor Carsten Flohr, representing GADA at the World Health Organisation in Geneva.

These accomplishments mark an exciting step forward in our collective journey and wouldn’t have been made possible without the invaluable contributions and dedication of our global collaborators.

GADA is grateful for the continued support of our collaborating organisations

Research update

Evidence Synthesis (ES)

Over the last 6 months, the ES research team has been working on a living systematic review of AD burden study between 1992 and 2026. We completed data extraction for over 1000 studies covering three decades.

The ES team has been undertaking the most comprehensive and robust systematic review on the prevalence and incidence of atopic dermatitis to date. Finally, over 1000 studies from 114 countries have been included for data analysis.

The latest AD burden data worldwide will be available later this year on the GADA website.

Publications from this workstream:

  1. Chih-Ya Chang, Kaitlyn Chan, Hsuan-Chi Chen, Chien-Cheng Lai, Karen Poole, Piers Allen, Ching-Chi Chi, David Prieto-Merino, Christian Vestergaard, Yik Weng Yew, Carsten Flohr, Suzanne H Keddie, Atopic dermatitis epidemiological research methodology: a global scoping review, British Journal of Dermatology, Volume 193, Issue 5, November 2025, Pages 830–838, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjd/ljaf238

  2. Suzanne H Keddie, Chih-Ya Chang, David Prieto-Merino, Helen Alexander, Piers Allen, Rania Al-Mukhtar, Bernd Arents, Kaitlyn Chan, Hsuan-Chi Chen, Ching-Chi Chi, Chia-Yu Chu, Paul-Chen Hsieh, Po-Wei Huang, I-Hsuan Huang, Jennfier J Koplin, Chien-Cheng Lai, Justin Lim, Ashton Neo, Sille Norjand, Sian El-Lousie Obeng, Erin PITT, Karen Poole, Emily Poyser, Tanzil Rujeedawai, Tara Sapkota, Desalegn M Shifti, Johnathan Sun, Kevin Tong, Bisam Ul-Haq, Christian Vestergaard, Yik Weng Yew and Carsten Flohr. Atopic Dermatitis Prevalence and Incidence 1992-2022: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Abstracts from 15th Georg Rajka International Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis. (2025). Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 105, adv44874. https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v105.44874

International Consensus Exercise

Epidemiological Study Designs for Atopic Dermatitis Research (EPISTAR)

We are pleased to share an update following our recent international consensus conference. Over two intensive days in February, we welcomed 81 participants representing 44 different countries and all WHO regions. This diverse assembly of stakeholder groups focused on the complex items and domains that had not yet reached consensus during the first and second e-Delphi rounds. We are delighted to report that through collaborative discussion and rigorous review, we have successfully reached consensus and ratified the final recommendations.

The result of the International Consensus is going to be publicly available soon. We extend our sincere gratitude to all contributors for their expertise and commitment to this project.

Publications from this workstream:

  1. Suzanne H Keddie, Karl Philipp Drewitz, Katrina Abuabara, Sebastien Barbarot, Kelly Barta, Aaron M Drucker, Jinane El Khoury, Ousmane Faye, Cesar Galvan, Kiran Godse, Rita J Iskandar, Jennifer J Koplin, Tina Mesarič, Yukihiro Ohya, Erere Otrofanowei, Christian Vestergaard, Hua Wang, Hywel C Williams, Yik Weng Yew, Carsten Flohr, Christian J Apfelbacher, Harmonizing epidemiological research methodology for atopic dermatitis research: protocol for the EPISTAR international consensus exercise, Skin Health and Disease, Volume 5, Issue 5, October 2025, Pages 319–325, https://doi.org/10.1093/skinhd/vzaf047

Digital Ecosystem

GADA-Register (GADA-Reg)

LebRAD, the Lebanese Register for atopic dermatitis, has completed 18-months of study follow-up.

LebRAD is a groundbreaking register collecting novel longitudinal data on atopic dermatitis and made possible by a collaboration between the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine - LAU, Lebanese American University, LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital and the Lebanese Dermatology Society.

Dr Jinane El Khoury Okais and her colleagues have:

  • Expanded recruitment to 10 sites across Lebanon

  • Recruited 151 participants

  • Poster presentation accepted at the British Association of Dermatologist meeting 2026

Please find more information for LebRAD and any new registers on our Dashboard!

In this challenging situation, LebRAD would not be possible without the help and support of everyone involved:

Drs Rita Iskandar, Marwa Hallal, Mikel Karam, Jana Dib El Jalbout, MD and Ms Theresa Al Zayat, MPH as well as Drs. Pascale Salameh, Maya Habre Rafih, MD, MSc, Hamad El Hajj, Dima Jeha, Vera Baaklini, Dr Maya Halabi-Tawil, Jean El Hajj, Claudia Chidiac, Maria Gebrayel, Riam Hijazi, Mazen Kurban, Rasha Ftouni, Callie Fares, Zeina Tannous, Elie Saliba, Maroun Matar, Edouard Sayad MD, FAAP, Gerard Wakim, Jason Jalkh, Ms. Laetitia Aoun, Ms. Laetitia Chahine, Jinia El Feghaly, Dr. Nancy Mufarrij Younes, Elio S., Nadira Diab, Elie Bou Farah, Kristy El Morr, Perla Ghalloub, Greta Torbey Ali Hamiyeh, Aya Awwad, Georgia Chkayban, Grace obeid, Joelle El Hakim and Christelle Medlege.

Poster presentation at BAD 2026

GD05 - Outcomes from a Global–National Partnership: 18 months of the Global Atopic Dermatitis Atlas and the Lebanese Registry for Atopic Dermatitis.

Piers Allen, Rita Iskandar, Theresa Al Zayat, Mikel Karam, Marwa Hallal, Maya Habre, Mazen Kurban, Maya Halabi-Tawil, Greta Torbey, Nancy Moufarrej, Pascale Salameh The LebRAD Consortium, Anna Darzina, Vahid Djamei, Ami Song, Suzanne H. Keddie, Carsten Flohr and Jinane El Khoury Okais

New Registers Joining Soon

We are entering the next chapter of the GADA register. Stay tuned for further updates!

  • Nigeria - PI Dr Erere Otrofanowei

  • India - PI Professor Sandipan Dhar

  • Philippines - PI Dr Bryan Guevara

Additional Workstreams

Expanding Our Horizons: The Microbiome in GADA

We are pleased to highlight our team’s research workstream: GADA-Omics.

The skin microbiome is increasingly recognised as a key regulator of cutaneous immunity and barrier function, yet most studies in AD have focused on bacteria and have been conducted in relatively homogeneous populations.

GADA-Omics provides a unique opportunity to investigate both bacterial and fungal microbial communities alongside host immune responses across different skin types, ethnicities, and geographical settings worldwide. This will help us identify novel disease mechanisms and biologically meaningful endotypes that underpin the heterogeneity of AD.

We aim to create a global map of the skin microbiome-metabolome and host immune profile in AD and healthy skin. This project would be the first to profile the skin microbiome, metabolome, lipidome, and immune marker signatures associated with clinical AD phenotypes.

New Faces in GADA

We are delighted to introduce Dr Gloria Masenga, a Consultant Dermatologist at the Regional Dermatology Training Centre in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and currently a Visiting Research Fellow at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, King’s College London, through the ISAD–GADA fellowship grant.

After completing her medical degree and specialist dermatology training at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Dr Masenga developed a strong interest in atopic dermatitis, with a particular focus on translational and population-based research.

Her work brings together clinical care, teaching, and research, with an emphasis on inflammatory skin diseases in diverse populations and resource limited settings. She is especially passionate about bridging clinical practice, population health data, and medical education to improve dermatological care globally, particularly for under resourced communities.

Rapid Fire Q&A

Favourite productivity hack ⚡

A good philosophical read to reset the mind, an hour of strenuous exercise for quality sleep, and, of course, dancing for the soul.

Dream vacation 🏖️

Anywhere in the world where I can fully immerse myself in the local culture, food, and music.

Past Events

Upcoming meetings and events

  • 106th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Dermatologists, 30 Jun – 02 JUL 2026 in Manchester, UK

  • EADV Congress, 30 SEP - 3 OCT 2026 in Vienna, Austria

  • Joint reception with GlobalSkin at International Symposium on Atopic Dermatitis (ISAD), 17-20 October 2026 in Beijing, China

  • 16th Georg RAJKA ISAD, 17-20 October 2026 in Beijing, China

  • Joint atlas fieldtrip to the Philippines early 2027

How to get involved in the GADA project

We are looking for collaborators to be involved in all the workstreams so please get in contact with the various workstream coordinators if you want to find out more information. The contact details for each are as follows:

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