Dr. Erica Kelly Featured in March 2012 Coast Article

Dr. Erica Kelly, UTMB’s cosmetic dermatology subspecialist, is featured in the Beauty/Style section of the March 2012 issue of Coast (page 20). She is quoted several times in the article about the use of sunscreen, antioxidants and retinoids to maintain youthful skin.

UTMB Dermatology Rated High By Residents

The results of the 2012 Resident Survey of dermatology residents at UTMB (conducted annually by the ACGME), showed that the UTMB Dermatology Residency Program achieved 100% compliance in the areas of duty hours, faculty, evaluation, educational content, resources, patient safety and teamwork. This year all 9 of the UTMB dermatology residents completed this survey. Congratulations to all for achieving this truly impressive program benchmark!

Tomorrow is Dermatology Night at St. Vincent's Clinic

Join UTMB Dermatology faculty and residents for Dermatology/Medicine Night at St. Vincent's Clinic!

When: Tuesday, February 28th, 4:30-8PM
Where: St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550

For more information about the St. Vincent's Student Free Clinic, please visit their website at: http://www.stvsc.org/.

Dr. Mara Dacso at The Grand 1894 Opera House

Dr. Mara Dacso is performing at the The Grand 1894 Opera House (2020 Post Office Street) on Thursday, March 8th at 7 pm for the annual St. Vincent’s Clinic Benefit Concert (see http://www.thegrand.com/StVincentsBenefit2012.asp ). St. Vincent’s Clinic is a free clinic made possible in part through the voluntary support of UTMB students, residents and faculty (see http://acs.etxahec.org/LinkClick.aspx?link=09-Shoemake+Student+Brochure.pdf&tabid=76&mid=423 ). Tickets are $7 now and $10 at the door. Dr. Dacso is currently a PGY3 Dermatology resident at UTMB . This is her 7th consecutive year performing at this fundraising event. Please come and enjoy a night out for a very worthy cause.

UTMB PGY3 Dermatology Resident Dr. Mara Dacso Publishes in Archives of Dermatology

Congratulations, Dr. Mara Dacso, for your first author, February 2012 publication in the Archives of Dermatology (Dacso MM, Petitt MS, Berlingeri-Ramos AC, Kelly BC. Progressive sclerodermoid skin changes - quiz case, diagnosis. Arch Dermatol 2012;148(2):247-252.) Her co-authors are former dermatology resident, Dr. Matt Petitt, and dermatology faculty, Drs. Cris Berlingeri and Brent Kelly.

Good Luck, UTMB Dermatology Residents

The American Board of Dermatology "Practice Board" examination is Thursday, February 23, 2012. Good luck!

Volunteer Opportunity: Santa Fe High's Community Health & Wellness Fair

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers for this fun event:

Community Health & Wellness Fair
Hosted by Santa Fe High ISD
When: THIS Saturday, February 25th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Santa Fe High School Cafeteria, 16000 Highway 6, Santa Fe, TX 77510

Please email Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) for details.

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren's Dermatology Honors Research Thesis Presentation Scheduled

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren has scheduled his UTMB Dermatology Honors Research Program thesis presentation, “Preventing ultraviolet radiation hand injury: hand cancer awareness and protective behaviors,” for Monday April 9th at 12 pm. His thesis committee members are Drs. Simon Lewis, Richard Wagner (faculty advisor), Brent Kelly and Sharon Raimer. Preliminary results of this research were previously presented at UTMB's 15th Forum on Aging Poster Session in 2011. His UTMB collaborators on this research were UTMB MS4 Ryan Riahi, UTMB MS3 Jason Hobbs, Dr. Daniel Freedman (UTMB Office of Biostatistics), and Dr. Richard Wagner (UTMB Department of Dermatology). All are welcome to attend this presentation in the UTMB Dermatology Conference Room, 4.112 McCullough Building. It is the only Dermatology Honors Research Project scheduled for presentation during the 2011-2012 academic year.

American Board of Dermatology (ABD) Changes Policy on Board Eligibility

According to the February 2012 issue of Dermatology World (page 29), as of January 1, 2012, residents completing an approved dermatology residency will not be allowed to take the ABD certification examination more than 5 years following their training. However, the ABD reserves the right to grant a brief extension in the event of military deployment or catastrophic illness at their discretion. This new policy will generally serve to prohibit dermatology residency graduates who have not passed the certification examination within 5 years of completion to claim being “board eligible.” This new rule will also apply to subspecialty fellows that have certification examinations available.

Neurotoxins and Fillers Remain Popular With Patients

According to a recent article by Kim Painter in USA Today (please see http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/healthyperspective/post/2012-02-10/plastic-surgery-numbers-rise-with-economy-stay-below-peak/624550/1 ), in 2011 Americans had outpatient procedures such as neurotoxin injection (5.7 million), fillers (1.9 million), peels (1.1 million), hair removal (1.1 million) and microdermabrasion (900,000) performed. The UTMB Dermatology Residency Program is fortunate to have premier cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Erica Kelly on faculty because of her subspecialty interest and expertise in this area. UTMB dermatology residents learn these techniques during their three years of dermatology residency in Galveston, and are able to offer them immediately to patients when they begin to practice independently.

The UTMB DIG presents "Stay Shady!" to Odyssey Academy

A huge thank you to UTMB DIG Community Outreach Co-Chairs, André Pitt (MS2, right) and Ryan Riahi (MS4, middle), and UTMB DIG member, Jeremy Hall (MS2, left), for bringing our new and improved "Stay Shady!" presentation to Odyssey Academy in Galveston this morning. They taught sixty 4th graders about the importance of sun safety.


After the presentations, students made UV bead bracelets. The UV beads change colors when exposed to UV rays, reminding the students that their skin is being affected by the sun. Additionally, each student was given sunscreen and a pamphlet summarizing key points of the presentation to share with family and friends.

Thank you, Odyssey Academy, for hosting the UTMB DIG and for being such a wonderful audience!

Dr. Brent Kelly Named as Inaugural Holder of Professorship

Dr. Brent Kelly, Associate Professor of Dermatology at UTMB, was named as the inaugural holder of the A. Dearl Dotson Providential Distinguished Professor in Dermatology. It was established by former UTMB medical student, dermatology resident and dermatology faculty member, A. Dearl Dotson, MD (now in private dermatology practice in San Antonio) “…for the purpose of sustaining excellence in clinical teaching in the Department of Dermatology.” Thank you, Dr. Dotson, and congratulations, Dr. Kelly!

Academic Characteristics of 2012 Outside Dermatology Applicants Interviewed at UTMB

UTMB medical students considering dermatology as a career are interested in feedback about how competitive their applications would be at other programs. One way to evaluate competitiveness is through comparison with outside applicants who recently completed dermatology interviewing at UTMB for our 3 NRMP dermatology residency positions. The 21 (out of 25 invited) outside applicants completing interviews last week had a mean Step 1 score of 252 (236-265). For the 11 applicants submitting Step 2 scores, the mean score was 260 (251-274). Only one applicant had a Step 3 score (228). All but one were selected for AOA at their medical schools. They were from 14 medical schools located in 10 states.

Overall, UTMB interviewed 30 applicants for the 3 available positions, including 4 of our own students and 5 outside applicants who were interviewed in November. There was only one visiting medical student this academic year. We will learn who matched with our program on Friday, March 16th. Good luck to everyone who interviewed with us!

"Stay Shady!": Looking for Volunteers

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers to present our sun protection presentation, "Stay Shady!," to Odyssey Academy's 4th grade classes.

When: Tuesday, February 7th, 10:30-11:15am
Where: Odyssey Academy (2412 61st Street, Galveston, TX 77551)

This is always a fun event! Interested in participating? Please email Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu).

CNN Report Critical of American Board of Dermatology (ABD) Certification Examination

CNN reported that the ABD uses previous examination questions on its certification examination (see http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/health/doctor-cheating-dermatology/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 for the full report). According to this article, about 20% of previously used test questions appear on the current dermatology certification examination. One solution to this criticism is for the ABD to cease using all old questions on its certification examination immediately. Each year a new examination could be prepared and administered. Alternatively, the ABD could publish all of its test questions with an answer key after each examination as a “study guide” for those preparing for the next test. That way, if the ABD decides to reuse previous questions, all test takers would have an equal opportunity to prepare for the test. Regardless of its decision, the ABD needs to act quickly to protect dermatology residents from this type of criticism.

UTMB Dermatology Resident Accepts Dermatopathology Fellowship at UT Southwestern

Congratulations to Dr. Mara Dacso, a current PGY3 dermatology resident at UTMB. Dr. Dacso has accepted a dermatopathology fellowship at highly prestigious UT Southwestern (Dallas) for the 2013-2014 academic year, following her completion of dermatology residency at UTMB.

Dermatology UTMB Summer Research Program Opportunity for MS1

Dr. Wilkerson has a dermatology laboratory position available for a first year UTMB medical student from May 27th to June 29th. His laboratory research involves basic science studies about nanoparticles and the skin. Cell culture techniques, mutagenicity assays and electron microscopy imaging are used to study nanoparticles and their impact on cell viability. UTMB DIG members participating in this type of research have been able to present posters at national meetings and use this type of research as a topic for their UTMB Honors Research Program in Dermatology. Students interested in learning more about this unique research opportunity should contact Dr. Wilkerson at mgwilker@utmb.edu