The American Academy of Dermatology declared the article by Associate Professor Serhiy Korkhov and Professor Mykhailo Lebediuk one of the best works nominated for the Samuel J. Zakon Award.

In the first days of the new year, a pleasant message came from the United States, from the American Academy of Dermatology. At the meeting of the Samuel J. Zakon Award Committee, one of the best works submitted for consideration was an article by two authors from Ukraine – Associate Professor of the Dermatology and Venereology Department Serhiy Serhiyovych Korkhov and the Head of the Department, Professor Mykhailo Mykolaiovych Lebediuk.

The President of the Committee, Professor Mark C. Valentine (MD), personally congratulated the authors and thanked them for participating in the competition. In particular, his letter reads:… “On the positive side, the information in the article is extremely valuable and must be kept as a publication. The facts and photos are really good, and the details provided may contain some surprises even for a well-informed dermatologist. As you and Dr. Lebedyuk make clear in the first few paragraphs, a hobby can make life fuller and more enjoyable. I think it’s great that you took the time to gather all this information, and if young doctors can read it, it will give them the freedom and even the inspiration to broaden their horizons beyond medicine and pursue a more balanced career. ”

It is worth recalling that the Society of Dermatology of the American Academy of Dermatology has been awarding the Samuel J. Zakon Award every year since 1980, celebrating important new work on the history of skin diseases, their treatment and people who have played important roles in dermatology. The award is named after the famous Chicago dermatologist Samuel Zakon, the first historian of the American Academy of Dermatology, and is probably the most prestigious award in this field in the world of dermatology.

Never before in the entire period of the award’s existence has it been awarded to representatives of the post-Soviet states. Alan Lyell (1917-2007) and John Savin (1935-2006), Scotland, Carl Golubar (1936-2013) and Manfred Skopec, Austria, Walter Lever (1909–1992), USA, Daniel Wallach and Gerard Till, France, Barry E. Monk, Great Britain, Albin Propp (1907–1990), Germany, Andrzej Grzybowski and Stefania Jablonska (1920–2017), Poland and many more world-renowned experts are among the winners of the award for its long history. And, for the past 6 years, since 2016, it has been received only by authors from the United States.

At the end of March in Boston, at a solemn meeting of the American Society of Dermatological History, Mr. Mark Valentin, the President of the Samuel Zakon Award Committee, will name two our colleagues Associate Professor Serhiy Korkhov and Professor Mykhailo Lebediuk  for their work “Non-dermatological Interests of Well-Known Dermatologists” among the best authors. As a reward, they will receive an honorary memorial address – a sign of recognition of their work – “receive a plaque recognizing your work for honorable mention” – and recognition and respect of like-minded colleagues.

It is difficult to predict whether the authors will be able to respond to the Committee’s invitations and be present in person at this outstanding event. The complex realities of today do not yet provide an answer to this question.