Stakeholders in cutaneous investigation: patients and patient advocates are essential.

A diverse array of stakeholders supports biomedical investigation, the major goal of which is to improve human health. For patients with dermatological disease, the Coalition of Skin Diseases (CSD) has for more than two decades provided a base from which public advocacy, education, fund-raising, and communication have flourished. Their efforts, combined with that of investigators and national funding agencies, have advanced scientific enterprise and, ultimately, human health.