Meet the Councilor | Yael Renert-Yuval, MD MSc 

A scientist and clinician, Dr. Renert-Yuval is an attending dermatologist in the largest pediatric dermatology unit in Israel, situated at Schneider Children's Medical Center, which is affiliated with Tel Aviv University.

She previously was a dermatologist and physician-scientist in the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University in New York, NY, USA.

She is an author on more than 40 journal articles and was the lead author on the IEC article Biomarkers in Atopic Dermatitis, a Review on Behalf of the International Eczema Council. She frequently collaborates with IEC cofounder and Past President Emma Guttman, MD PhD, as a coauthor. Atopic dermatitis has been a central focus of her research.

Her ultimate career objective is to enhance patient care by applying cutting-edge scientific and clinical research, leveraging the diverse array of tools she has acquired through years of extensive exploration in the field.

What is your proudest accomplishment in the atopic dermatitis (AD) space to date?

My special interest in AD has been pediatric AD, and since 2015 I was fortunate to join a large project lead by two leading investigators in the field, Dr. Amy Paller and Dr. Emma Guttman-Yassky (who has been a personal mentor throughout my career).

In this project we extensively studied a variety of samples, including full-depth skin biopsies, blood, and non-invasive tape strips from AD patients across different pediatric age groups along with age-matched controls. These experiments allowed us to delineate the molecular evolution of AD from infancy through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood and better understand the common and unique molecular feature in each of these age groups.

What do you value most about being involved with the IEC?

I highly appreciate the chance to be part of a team that stands at the forefront of AD clinical management and research, encompassing both clinical and mechanistic aspects. Being a member of this diverse group, which focuses on various facets of this intricate disease, I constantly find myself gaining knowledge about interesting AD elements that typically lie beyond the scope of my daily practice or research. These include areas such as AD scoring, biomarkers, the effects of climate on the disease, and innovative clinical strategies and guidelines.  

What do you think will garner the most attention over the coming year in the AD field?

I think the extensive pipeline of AD therapeutics will continue to unfold into clinically available drugs and agents. This remarkable progress will enable us to attain unprecedented levels of clinical outcomes. Consequently, it will present the field with the challenge of establishing novel management approaches to guide clinicians in selecting the optimal treatment for moderate-to-severe AD patients and in determining when treatment adjustments are necessary. Monitoring patients and evaluating their response will play a crucial role, utilizing both clinical and tissue-based assessments.

Additionally, maintaining a sustained response poses a challenge with new therapeutics due to limited data on long-term results. Moreover, these new therapeutics will gradually enter the realm of pediatric AD, an area that currently faces greater difficulty in treatment, necessitating age-based adjustments to improve the care of our younger patients.

What do you see as the biggest need among AD patients?

I currently practice in Israel and mostly see children with AD in a large tertiary pediatric center. In this setting, one of the most significant challenges my patients face is limited access to the new therapeutics. Currently, payers in Israel consider these treatments as second- or third-line options only when systemic interventions become necessary.

Additionally, I strongly believe that there exists an unmet need for patients across all age groups to actively participate in assessing and guiding their own clinical management. This aspect holds immense importance and may be enhanced through innovative strategies such as the treat-to-target approach, which we are currently investigating as part of an IEC project in the context of AD.