The 23rd gathering of the European Epidermal Barrier Research Network (hashtag#E2BRN) community in Heidelberg has come to a close. Thank you to all participants for a great meeting!
We enjoyed 11 short and two keynote talks, presented mostly by early-career researchers and followed by lively discussions. Topics included keratinocyte biology, epidermal models and diseases, wound healing and epidermal repair, epidermal inflammation, epigenetic regulation, and epidermal barrier lipidomics, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of our community.
We were delighted to welcome our keynote speakers, Prof. Wim Declercq (Ghent University, Belgium) and Prof. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak (University of Gdańsk, Poland). Thank you both for contributing your expertise to this year’s meeting.
We would also like to thank Prof. Takeshi Matsui 松井毅 (Tokyo University of Technology, Japan), Prof. Jolanta Jura (Jagiellonian University, Poland), and Dr. Purna Gadre (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany) for chairing the sessions.
We are especially grateful to Thomas Florestan, Caroline Blondel, Lea Selosse, and Sandrine Dubrac from European Society for Dermatological Research for their invaluable support in organizing the meeting.
Last but not least: special thanks to VIB (Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie, https://vib.be ) for their generous sponsorship of our meeting — a leading Belgian life sciences research institute driving cutting-edge biomolecular research and innovation! hashtag#VIB
We hope to see you all next year!
Michal Gdula and Esther Hoste
Congratulations to our E2BRN 2026 Best Talk Prize winners! 🏆
With so many excellent talks in Heidelberg, our jury—Wim Declercq, Esther Hoste, and Michal Gdula —had a difficult task selecting two winners, each receiving €250:
🔹 Chloé Nguyen Van — Laboratory of Tissue Biology and Therapeutic Engineering, Lyon, France: “Histone deacetylase inhibition impairs epidermal homeostasis and barrier function in human skin models”
🔹 Catherine Mergen — Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden, the Netherlands: “Skin barrier dysfunction and underlying stratum corneum ceramide changes in early-stage mycosis fungoides improve during topical chlormethine treatment”
Warm congratulations to both winners, and thank you to all speakers for making the choice so challenging!
At the end of the day, we moved to Heidelberg Boathouse to continue the discussions over dinner—a great way to round off the meeting!
hashtag#E2BRN hashtag#SkinBiology hashtag#EpidermalBarrier hashtag#ESDR2026
We are delighted to announce the keynote speakers for the E2BRN 2026 Meeting Programme!
We are very pleased to welcome:
🔹 Prof. Danuta Gutowska-Owsiak — University of Gdańsk, Poland
🔹 Prof. Wim Declercq — Ghent University, Belgium
Their keynote lectures will be among the highlights of this year’s E2BRN programme, bringing together researchers working across epidermal biology, keratinocyte biology, wound healing and inflammation.
The programme also features Young Investigator talks, selected presentations and poster sessions, providing plenty of opportunities to hear about new research, exchange ideas and connect with colleagues across the E2BRN community.
We hope you will join us at E2BRN 2026 in Heidelberg — and we look forward to seeing many of you there!
Join the European Epidermal Barrier Research Network (E2BRN) and submit your abstract for this year’s annual E2BRN meeting in Heidelberg!
Abstract submission deadline: 30th May
Submission form: https://lnkd.in/e_E7G5nG
To join the network: send us a LinkedIn invitation.
The E2BRN meeting, held alongside the ESDR conference, will bring together researchers, clinicians, and students interested in epidermal biology — whether from a clinical, translational, or basic science perspective. We warmly invite everyone working on the epidermal barrier, skin biology, disease mechanisms, tissue homeostasis, inflammation, repair, and related areas to join the network and share their work with the community.
Contributions from all career stages are welcome. We look forward to seeing you in Heidelberg!
Esther Hoste & Michal Gdula