• Children and adults with ichthyosis come to University of California Dermatology Clinic for treatment with a new drug, Accutane®
• Pam Brown, Barbara Landwehr and Mary Williams, MD begin to share with each other the challenges of raising a child with ichthyosis
• Pam Brown and Barbara Landwehr publish the first newsletter
• Corporate donations are received from two pharmaceutical companies
• 1^st chapter meeting held in San Francisco Bay Area on November 2^nd
• 2^nd chapter meeting held in Ohio at the office of Dr. Frank Yoder
• The name Ichthyosis Focus is adopted for the newsletter

• The National Ichthyosis Foundation (NIF) is incorporated on January 2, 1981
• 3^rd chapter meeting held in New York
• Ted Shackelford joins N.I.F. Board of Directors

• Medical Advisory Board is formed
• Corporate sponsor for newsletter is obtained
• Regional chapters are formed
• NIF attends its first American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting
• Chapters begin to raise money
• Offices move to Belmont, CA
• Jack Klugman crusades for ichthyosis. NIF involved in filming an episode of Quincy that addresses Orphan Drugs.

• 1^st National Family Conference, Chicago, IL
• Members & Ted Shackelford appear on AM San Francisco

1984

• 2^nd National Family Conference, Washington, DC

• 3^rd National Family Conference, Las Vegas, NV

• 4^th National Family Conference, New Orleans, LA

• NIF changes its name to Foundation for Ichthyosis & Related Skin Types, Inc. (FIRST) to include a broad spectrum of keratinizing disorders and to include “orphan” diseases 

• Informational Brochures Created: Overview, Genetics & Informational Brochure
• 5^th National Family Conference, New Haven, CT

• Offices move to Raleigh, NC

1990

• 6^th National Family Conference, Orlando, FL

• 7^th National Family Conference, Williamsburg, VA
• Creation of the Regional Support Network (RSN)
• 1^st Regional Conference at Duke University

• FIRST hires its first paid executive director, Susan Snyder
• More Regional Conferences in New York & Indianapolis
• Representatives from FIRST testify before Congress

• 8^th National Family Conference, Chicago, IL

• Funding becomes available and the National Registry for Ichthyosis and Related Disorders begins

• National Registry for Ichthyosis hires professional coordinator
• 9^th National Family Conference, San Diego, CA 

• FIRST offices move to Philadelphia
• Regional Conference, Indianapolis

• First 100 patients are enrolled in the National Registry for Ichthyosis
• FIRST’s website goes live on the Internet

• 10^th National Family Conference, Cherry Hill, NJ

• FIRST funds its first research grant through the Dermatology Foundation
• Jane Bukaty Membership Assistance Fund is established

• FIRST receives funding to hire a professional coordinator for the Ichthyosis Support Network (ISN)
• FIRST lobbies Congress for funding
• 11^th National Family Conference, Philadelphia, PA
• FIRST funds its second research grant through the Dermatology Foundation
• Molecular diagnosis is made possible through the Registry
• Website is professionally updated, hosting services donated, inquiries increase significantly 

• Regional Conference in Bloomingdale, GA
• FIRST funds its third research grant through the Dermatology Foundation
• Two personal major gifts are received

• 12^th National Family Conference, Seattle, Washington
• Five-year strategic plan adopted, top priority is research
• FIRST receives first Gold Triangle Award from American Academy of Dermatology for its new website www.scalyskin.org

• FIRST secures funding to update its resource library
• Major fundraising campaign is launched for research money

• 13^th National Family Conference, Kansas City, Missouri highest attendance to date
• National headquarters moves to a larger office space
• FIRST receives first bequest
• FIRST achieves $100,000 in the first year of a fundraising campaign for research

• Online educational modules are donated and published on the website
• New DVD is produced featuring teens living with ichthyosis
• FIRST receives 2^nd & 3^rd Gold Triangle Awards from the American Academy of Dermatology for the Education Modules for Healthcare Professionals on its website and for Teen DVD, “Living with Ichthyosis”

2006

• FIRST launches its own research grant program
• Founders, Mary Williams & Peter Elias, are honored at testimonial dinner
• 14^th National Family Conference, Atlanta, Georgia

• 4 year strategic plan is adopted, top priorities include tele-medicine project, clinical scholar program, new data-base management system, new website

• 15^th National Family Conference, Chicago, IL
• FIRST receives 4^th Gold Triangle Award from the American Academy of Dermatology for the 2008 National Family Conference
• FIRST produces new DVD, The FIRST Story

• FIRST launches a facebook page

• FIRST launches new logo and new color scheme
• New website with new URL firstskinfoundation.org
• FIRST launches a YouTube page
• FIRST launches Tele-Ichthyosis Website
• 16^th National Family Conference, Orlando, FL
• FIRST hosts International Frontiers in Ichthyosis Research Meeting