TouchDERMATOLOGY coverage from EADV 2025:
Each year, the European Academy of Dermatology and Venerology (EADV) offers a funded EADV Clinical Fellowship and a Research Fellowship programme designed to provide additional opportunities and support for young dermatologists, trainees and junior scientists. These initiatives aim to help individuals gain hands-on experience, expand their skills and broaden their knowledge of dermatology and venereology in leading European centres.
However, it can sometimes be difficult to know exactly what these opportunities involve, or whether they are the right fit for you. To help answer that question, there is no better way than to hear directly from someone with first-hand experience.
This year, Dr Flavia Manzo Margiotta (University of Pisa, Italy) was awarded the EADV Clinical Fellowship, gaining valuable experience at Städtisches Klinikum Dessau under the expert guidance of Prof. Christos Zouboulis, Dr Georgios Nikolakis, and colleagues.
The EADV Clinical Fellowship aims to provide a well-defined observational experience within a department recognised for its expertise in a specific field, allowing fellows to learn from real-world clinical practice, service structures and specialist techniques.
Q. Could you briefly explain what the EADV Clinical Fellowship Programme involves?
There are two types of fellowships offered by the EADV: the Clinical Fellowship and the Research Fellowship. The Clinical Fellowship usually lasts between two and three months, and candidates are required to have an agreement between their home institution and the host centre, outlining a plan of specific activities. In my case, the focus was mainly on hidradenitis suppurativa, as the centre I attended was led by Prof. Christos Zouboulis (Dessau, Germany), who was an excellent supervisor and leader in this field. The fellowship involved both clinical management of patients and the clinical analysis of data, so I would describe it as a hybrid experience.
Q. What have you gained professionally and personally from this experience?
First of all, I had the opportunity to work at the Städtisches Klinikum Dessau hospital in Germany, one of the world’s leading dermatology centres for hidradenitis suppurativa. I can truly say that I experienced the best of the best in terms of clinical management. It was also very interesting to see how a centre of this scale can manage such a vast amount of data. The volume and depth of data handled there, in this single centre, was truly remarkable!
From a personal point of view, it was a particularly meaningful experience because, in Germany, many residents come from all over the world. In my home country of Italy, we are more accustomed to Italian residents training locally, so seeing such an international community was truly inspiring for me and will likely influence my future career decisions.
Q. How do you hope to apply what you have learnt in your future work?
I think there are several ways I can apply what I have learned. From a clinical point of view, I saw examples of good practice that can be easily implemented, even within my own research setting in Italy. I also gained valuable insights into improving research techniques, particularly around data collection, for example how data should be gathered and how it should be analysed. Overall, this programme has provided multiple perspectives that will be highly beneficial to my future work.
Q. What advice would you give young dermatologists considering this fellowship?
Try. Absolutely, my advice is to try. You may not know whether you will be selected the first time, but these are truly life changing experiences. If you are successful, you will bring something valuable back with you, perhaps it will be new knowledge, new skills, or even the seed of a future career path. I would highly recommend applying for this programme, as well as the 12-month EADV Research Fellowship. Even though the Clinical Fellowship is shorter, lasting only two or three months, it is still a unique opportunity that can have a lasting impact on your career.
Disclosures: Dr Flavia Manzo Margiotta has received honoraria from AbbVie, Almirall, Eli Lilly, Leo Pharma, Pfizer and Sanofi.
This content has been developed independently by Touch Medical Media for touchDERMATOLOGY. It is not affiliated with the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV). Views expressed are the speaker’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Touch Medical Media.
Cite: EADV Clinical Fellowship: Is this opportunity right for you? touchDERMATOLOGY. October 02, 2025
Editors: Gina Furnival & Victoria Jones
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