The Department of Dermatology’s 18th Annual Research Day was held on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 with 55 total faculty, staff, residents, students and researchers attending (either in person or virtually). The event featured guest, faculty, and trainee presenters. Our guest speaker was Daniel Kaplan, M.D., Ph.D. Professor, Dermatology, Immunology, University of Pittsburgh.

Faculty speakers were:

  • George Wilcox, PhD, Professor, “Peripherally targeted mu- and delta-opioid agonist combination yields highly potent, addiction-free analgesia
  •  Matthew Mansh, MD, Assistant Professor, “Measuring LGBTQ+ Diversity in the Physician Workforce Pipeline
  • David Pearson, MD, Assistant Professor, “Conducting and participating in clinical trials in academia
  • Javed Shaik, PhD, Assistant Professor, “Predicting organotropic metastasis in primary melanoma
  • Mei Bigliardi-Qi, PhD, Associate Professor, “Study of human skin circadian rhythms using skin-on-chip

Presentations by trainees are a highlight of Research Day. This year, 31 outstanding poster abstracts were submitted and judged by an expert panel at a poster session held Virtually on Friday, March 3rd, 2023.Congratulations to the 4 recipients of the abstract awards, who also shared their work on Research Day.

Most Outstanding Research Contribution Award Recipient:

  • Lindsey Wanberg, MS3, (co-authors: Nawang Singhe, MS1, Cody Rasner, MS3, Joseph McGrath, MS1, Connor Buechler, MD & David Pearson, MD) “Factors Associated With Diagnostic Delays in Dermatomyositis

Excellence in Research Award Recipients:

  • Zachary Wendland, Research Fellow (co-authors: Katelyn Rypka, Research Fellow, Claire Herzog, MS3, Lindsey Greenlund, MS3, Travis Fulk, MD, & Noah Goldfarb, MD) “Exploring the Relationship between Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Hidradenitis Suppurativa: A Retrospective Analysis of United States Veterans
  • Katelyn Rypka, Research Fellow (co-authors: Abel Woldu, MS1 & Matthew Mansh, MD) “Prevalence of Atopic Dermatitis, Asthma, and Allergic Rhinitis Among Sexually Diverse Adults in the United States
  • Connor Buechler, MD (co-authors: Cody Rasner, MS3, Lindsey Wanberg, MS3, Nicole Theis-Mahon & David Pearson, MD) “Reporting of Ethnic and Racial Minorities in Clinical Trials for Autoimmune Connective Tissue Disease Therapeutic Agents