Nicole
L.
Ward
PhD

Vice Chair for Basic Research
Professor of Dermatology
Lloyd E. King Jr. Directorship in Dermatology Research
Dr. Nicole Ward
Professional Bio

Nicole Ward, PhD, is a Professor and the Vice Chair of Basic Research in the Department of Dermatology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She joined the department in January 2022 after working at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland for more than 18 years.

Her active research program is focused on understanding the cellular and molecular pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory skin diseases, like psoriasis and psoriasis-related co-morbidities. Her research interests also include: psoriatic arthritis (PsA), osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), lupus, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), other inflammatory skin diseases, multi-'omics, microbiome, comorbidities. Her lab specializes in generating and studying unique mouse models of inflammatory skin disease.

Dr. Ward's group has published several seminal findings including being the first to show that chronic skin-initiated inflammation can drive the development of cardiovascular disease and that suppressing it reverses disease; and that cutaneous sensory nerve interactions with dendritic cells are critical for eliciting and sustaining psoriasis pathogenesis, thus explaining the cellular mechanisms underlying psoriasis disease remission following skin denervation.

Dr. Ward's paradigm-shifting work in psoriasis earned her the Eugene M. Farber Lecture at the 2016 Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting. She was the first non-MD, first woman and youngest person to be awarded this honor. In 2019, the American Skin Association acknowledged her scientific contributions with the Research Achievement Award in Psoriasis and in 2022 the National Psoriasis Foundation honored her at their Women Who Lead Commit to Cure Gala.

Dr. Ward trains, teaches, and mentors undergraduate, graduate and medical students, residents, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty. 

She has a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and is a member of the Vanderbilt Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation as well as the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology.

 

Dr. Ward's areas of expertise and clinical interests:

  • Cutaneous biology 
  • Tissue homeostasis in health and disease 
  • Psoriasis Inflammatory arthritis 
  • Inflammatory skin disease 
  • Multi-'omics research 
  • Preclinical animals models of disease
Education
MSc - Biological Sciences - Neuroscience, McMaster University
1996
PhD - Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University
1999
Fellowship
Vascular Biology/ Angiogenesis, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Research Institute
2003