Dermatology Research
Department of Dermatology Research Overview
Research in the Department of Dermatology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is broad in scope, bringing together scientists with expertise and innovation in:
- Clinical health services, patient-centered and outcome-based clinical research
- Bioinformatics analyses of large patient datasets, genetics, and electronic medical record data to discover new insight into disease pathogenesis and to develop early predictive tools of disease onset
- Use of artificial intelligence (AI) for image analyses of skin disease, including graft-vs-host, SJS-TEN, and MPox, and non-invasive imaging of healthy and disease skin
- Discovering the basic cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying skin disease and skin disease comorbidities.
Our goals are to better understand the biology of healthy skin, to identify the underlying pathogenesis of skin diseases, and to translate our discoveries into new therapies and diagnostic tools to improve human health and patient care.
Research areas of interest of our faculty members include:
- Adverse drug reactions involving skin
- Allergy
- Autoimmunity
- Cancer
- Cellular immunology
- Clinical epidemiology
- Comorbidities of skin disease
- Computational biology
- Host-microbe interactions
- Inflammatory skin diseases
- Precision medicine
- Wound healing
Dermatology Research Groups
Ward Lab
Research in the Ward Lab is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of inflammatory diseases. Several ongoing themes are being studied in the lab of Dr. Nicole Ward, including:
- Understanding the roles and relationships between epithelial cells and immune cells in tissue homeostasis and disease pathogenesis
- Identifying the cellular and molecular players responsible for the development of co-morbid conditions following exposure to chronic inflammation, including arthritis, depression, osteopenia and cardiovascular disease
- Exploring the significance of inflammation in connective tissue and bone disease.
Visit the Ward Lab website
The Vanderbilt Dermatology Translational Research Clinic (VDTRC)
The central focus of the Vanderbilt Dermatology Translational Research Clinic (VDTRC), led by Dr. Eric Tkaczyk, is the development and application of technology for rigorous, clinically meaningful assessment of the skin, both for cutaneous as well as systemic diseases.
The VDTRC research program integrates development, application, and validation of skin assessment tools. Focus areas include skin photo analysis by AI and mechanical measurement of sclerosing disease.
Visit the VDTRC website
Vanderbilt Dermatology Researchers Drs. Lee Wheless, Eric Tkaczyk, Eric Mukherjee and Jason Meyer are pictured at the VUMC One Hundred Oaks office. Not pictured: Dr. Nicole Ward