Welcome to the Keloid Research Foundation

Established in 2011 by Dr. Michael H. Tirgan, the KRF is a 501 (C)(3), non for profit medical research and educational organization. The mission of KRF is to foster scientific research in keloid disorder and to promote education, advocacy, and service to those who suffer from this disorder. Donors can deduct contributions they make to KRF under IRC Section 170.

Keloid is a genetic skin disorder which results in excessive growth and formation of tumor-like areas in an otherwise healthy skin. Despite their benign nature, keloids may constitute severe aesthetic as well as functional problems that can negatively impact patients' quality of life.

Keloids are mostly observed between ages of 10 and 30 years. There is no consensus on the best method of treatment for this condition; neither do we have any form of wholly satisfactory therapy. Keloids do not regress and are characterized by a high rate of recurrence after surgery or other forms of treatment. Indeed, surgical treatment often gives rise to even larger lesions. In addition, being a uniquely human condition, no animal study models are available.

Although a common medical condition, keloid disorder has been neglected by the research community. There are no statistics as to its incidence and prevalence, neither in the United States, nor elsewhere in the world. This disorder, although quite common and although at times very disabling, has not captured the interest of the research community and remains an area of unmet medical need. It behaves quite similar to cancer, yet it does not metastasize to tissues outside skin (or maybe it does and we simply do not know about it).

KRF was formed to foster scientific research in this disease. To accomplish its goals, KRF will raise funds, increase awareness and bolster interest in this disease. We will not make any progress in this disease unless we dedicate the same kind of interest, effort and energy that we have dedicated to cancer research.

Keloid Research is an online, open access scientific publication of the Keloid Research Foundation. Until now, keloid manuscripts have been published in a variety of journals. Our goal is to create a centralized publishing platform for all researchers who are passionate about this disorder, so that relevant clinical and laboratory research can be published in one place and under one umbrella. The journal is aiming to provide an international forum for the publication of original work, describing basic science, translational and clinical investigations in keloid disorder. Click on the image below to be directed to the journal's website.

KRF is also the sponsor of the annual International Keloid Symposium. Our last meeting, the 3rd International Keloid Symposium was held in April 2019 in Beijing. The 2020 and 2021 annual meetings were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

We are now pleased to announce that our next meeting, the 4th International Keloid Symposium will be a three-day meeting and will be held on October 7-9 2022 in Montpellier, France. Click on the image below to be directed to the symposium website.