History – Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation

Our Mission & History

People living with Hidradenitis Suppurativa are at the heart of our mission

Disseminate the latest HS knowledge for professionals and patients

Our programs directed toward both patients and medical professionals are capped by an annual international conference, the Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances, where the latest breakthroughs in the cause, diagnosis, control, and cure of Hidradenitis Suppurativa are shared in a three-day educational conference. Educational resources on our website include the latest treatment guidelines, online courses addressing the unmet needs of patients, and the research changing the landscape in Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Annual Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances

North American Treatment Guidelines

Information on causes and treatments for patients

Guide, fund, and promote research directed by the unmet needs of patients

Hidradenitis Suppurativa is one of the most devastating diseases in all of dermatology. Research into the cause, control, and eventual cure of HS is central to our mission. We fund basic, translational, and treatment-based research through our Danby Research Grants while guiding and promoting research from relevant stakeholders.

HSF Danby Research Grants

Guide and Promote Patient-Centered Research

Advocate with All Stakeholders

Our advocacy goals strive toward more and better treatment options, easier access to care and better coverage from insurance, and patient-centered outcomes in research and drug development

Advocate for patients with payers and policy makers

Investigate Patient-Reported endpoints in clinical trials

Originally founded by two patients and two dermatologists

Since our founding in 2005, the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation has fostered and encouraged worldwide research by developing and supporting an interdisciplinary family of scientists and physicians devoted to studying Hidradenitis Suppurativa, in order to deliver more effective forms of treatment and preventative measures to those with this common, debilitating, and eminently chronic disease.

In October 2012, it was determined that a European organization representing HS goals was needed. Led by Drs. Christos Zouboulis and Gregor Jemec, the European Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation was formed.

In April 2013, the HSF’s new President, Dr. Paul Hazen, welcomed multiple new members to its Board of Directors, representing experts in clinical care and research from throughout the United States. The Board was joined and supported in this mission by its first pharmaceutical Partner, AbbVie.

On May 1, 2014, Dr. Danby assumed the presidency and colleagues in Canada were approached, forming the Canadian HS Foundation was formed.

On March 4, 2016, Dr. Iltefat Hamzavi assumed the Presidency, overseeing a period of renewed HS interest including the HS Foundation’s first Symposium on Hidradenitis Suppurativa Advances and establishing the HSF Danby Research Grant program.