Research
As a dermatologist, I care for many patients on immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory medications and am aware of the lack of high-level, population-based research about the risk and preventative strategies for infectious complications of these medications. My clinical research program focuses on using clinical epidemiology and pharmacoepidemiology to guide the care of patients with chronic skin diseases, with a focus on the adverse effects of dermatologic therapies, encompassing both the infectious complications of immunosuppressive therapies and severe cutaneous drug reaction like Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis. There is a large knowledge gap in our understanding of the complications of dermatologic therapies, which I hope to address to create evidence-based treatment recommendations and improve the care of dermatology patients.
Our current research is focused on the identification of patients with chronic skin diseases at highest risk for serious pneumonia and provide the initial step to inform the design of future interventional studies to reduce infectious complications in patients with chronic skin diseases. This research is funded by a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.