Editors



Current Editors: Jane Onyemachi and Madelyn Schmidt

(Please email editors if there is blog-worthy news that you would like to see shared)

Past Editors: Fareen Momin, Andrea Francis, Renat Ahatov, Michael Phan, Elise Weisert, Michael Ryan, Keith Wagner, Tim Allen, Kristyna Gleghorn, Dung Mac, Alex Acosta, William Tausend, Sheila Jalalat, Rebecca Philips, Chelsea Altinger, Lindsey Hunter, Alison Wiesenthal, Leslie Scroggins, Mara Dacso, Ashley Group, Fadi Constantine, Emily Fridlington, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla.

Monday, December 19, 2022

Association of Professors of Dermatology Residency Program Directors Section Recommendations regarding away electives

Recommendations regarding away electives
December 14, 2022 

Given recent changes to the residency application process to create a more sustainable and equitable process, the APD has considered options for limiting away dermatology electives for upcoming residency application cycles. 

In alignment with recommendations from the Organization of Program Director Associations (OPDA), the APD considers away electives important for many medical students. These rotations afford medical students the opportunity to gain additional exposure to dermatology educational experiences and programs and to assess different learning environments. Away electives allow students to interact with faculty outside of their home institution, which can foster mentorship and other networking opportunities. In particular, for students without a dermatology residency program at their home institution, away electives provide a unique opportunity for dermatology clinical experience and connection with academic dermatology faculty. 

For programs, away electives provide an opportunity for faculty to assess students’ performance in clinical environments and among teams as well as to highlight the culture and learning environment of their program. These experiences can contribute to the holistic evaluation of candidates applying for residency. As such, it is generally advised that these electives are completed early in the fourth year of medical school, prior to interview invitations. The utility of later rotations varies among programs. 

However, it is important to state that away electives are not required to receive an interview invite, nor do they guarantee an interview for a given program. It remains program-specific whether a formal interview offer is extended to all rotating students or whether interviews are conducted during an away elective. The APD recommends all programs are transparent with their policies regarding away electives and interviews. 

Recommendations for students 

Given the high costs associated with dermatology away electives and the continued potential for inequity that may impact outcomes of the dermatology residency match, the APD recommends the following guidelines to optimize dermatology exposure, education and evaluation for dermatology residency candidates in their fourth year of medical school: 

    - Most students should limit their experiences to up to 2 external “away” electives 

    - Students without a home dermatology program may consider completing up to 3 electives at external programs 

Recommendations for programs 

- Programs should consider funding opportunities for students that are underrepresented in medicine or from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. 

        o These may come in the form of program-specific funded electives, organizational/institutional funding, or mentorship awards/grants (eg AAD Diversity Mentorship Program or SOCS Observership Grant). Faculty can enroll as potential mentors through these organizations. 

- Faculty mentors are advised to counsel students to adhere to the recommendations above and to recognize that away electives are not required to match in dermatology and may not confer an advantage.

Friday, December 09, 2022

MS4 Publishes in The American Journal of Dermatopathology

Congratulations to Brenda Carrillo, MS4, for her recent publication "A Case of a Rare Histologic Variant: Cavernous Hemangioma–Like Kaposi Sarcoma" in The American Journal of Dermatopathology. Her co-authors are Dr. Haller, Dr. Soldano, and Dr. Keeling from Dell Dermatology. 

Thursday, December 08, 2022

2023-2024 UTMB Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery Fellow (Mohs)

Congratulations to Dr. Andrew Armenta, a current PGY4 dermatology chief resident at UTMB, for his successful match into the UTMB Mohs fellowship program! He will  be the 8th UTMB fellow in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery.

Tuesday, December 06, 2022

UTMB Dermatology Residency Interviews Offered

UTMB Dermatology issued interviews for dermatology residency interviews on Monday, December 5, 2022. Applicants for 21 medical schools (10 different states, countries, and the District of Columbia) received offers for interviews in February 2023. Non-rotator average Step 1 scores were 245 (range 226-261) and for Step 2 were 254 (range 228-267), with three AOA members.

Monday, December 05, 2022

Tonight: DIGA Webinar with Impact Melanoma @ 8PM EST

DIGA will be hosting a Webinar with IMPACT MELANOMA TONIGHT, December 5, at 8pm EST/ 5pm PST. 

Come hear about the nation's leading non-profit dedicated to melanoma prevention and early detection, their programs, and how you as a student can get involved.Here is the zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7168436273 to join!

Email diga.derminterest@gmail.com if you have any questions or concerns.

Sunday, December 04, 2022

Lindy Ross, MD Recognized as UTMB’s December 2022 Clinician of the Month

Congratulations to Dr. Lindy Ross for her recognition by the UTMB Academy of Master Clinicians as the December 2022 Clinician of the month! She is an Assistant Professor in the UTMB Department of Dermatology. Please see https://www.utmb.edu/amc/COM/clinician-of-the-month

for additional information.

MS4 and UTMB Alum Publish in Pediatric Dermatology

Congratulations to UTMB SOM alum Natalya Gallaga and Brenda Carrillo, MS4, on their recent publication "Pediatric pulse dose corticosteroid therapy dosing and administration in the treatment of alopecia areata: A review of literature" in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatric Dermatology.  Their co-authors are Dr. Allison Good, Dr. Ayezel Munoz, and Dr. Lindy Ross. The publication is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pde.15209 

Thursday, December 01, 2022

Dr. Kristyna Gleghorn Certified in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery

Congratulations to Dr. Kristyna Gleghorn! She is now certified by the American Board of Dermatology in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery (Mohs). She completed medical school, dermatology residency, and the Mohs fellowship at UTMB. She is the 6th Mohs fellow from the UTMB program to pass the Mohs subspecialty board on the first attempt. Her current private practice is in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Monday, November 21, 2022

UTMB MS4 Publishes in The Journal of Asthma and Allergy and The International Journal of Dermatology

Congratulations to UTMB MS4 Shayan Owji for his recent publications: “Management of Atopic Dermatitis: Clinical Utility of Ruxolitinib” in the peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of Asthma and Allergy (October 2022); and “Use of dynamic optical coherence tomography in a corticosteroid vasoconstrictor assay: a pilot study” in the peer-reviewed dermatology journal, The International Journal of Dermatology (November 2022).

Pstamp Out Psoriasis Fundraising Event & Bingo

Organization: National Psoriasis Foundation of Houston

Volunteers: 
Psoriasis Chair: Robyn Okereke-planned and coordinated event since summer with NPF, was also the bingo caller for event on stage, helped walk around and main seller of fundraising wine for night
DIG members (left to right): 
Oshione Jimoh- helped walk around and fundraiser wine
Mehdi Sheikh- helped with wine fundraiser 
Sebastian Certuche- helped on stage to give attendees prizes
McGovern medical student recruited by Robyn (male on left side of pic with glasses: Jeffrey mayo jr- helped to check guest in 




Thursday, November 17, 2022

UTMB MS4 Publishes in SKIN

Congratulations to UTMB MS4 Gregory Ugoh for his recent case report, “A Case of Pseudoverrucous Papules and Nodules in an Adult with Spinal Dysraphism” in the peer-reviewed dermatology journal, SKIN: The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine (November 2022). His UTMB co-authors were PGY3 dermatology resident Dr. Carolyn Crain and dermatology and dermatopathology faculty Dr. Brandon Goodwin. The article is available online at https://jofskin.org/index.php/skin/article/view/1686

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Register - 11/17/22 DIGA Webinar: Residency Interviews

DIGA will be hosting a Residency Interview Webinar November 17 at 3pm CST/ 4pm EST/ 1pm PST.  Dr. Robert Brodell of UMMC will speak about how to prepare for Behavioral and Scenario based residency interviews.

Submit any questions that you have using the form below. Questions will be compiled and may be used to guide discussion during the webinar.The zoom link will be released later this week and emailed directly to those whose register! Make sure that you are subscribed to our listserv or follow us on social media for updates!Form: https://forms.gle/4JAzokF4iz52h117A**We are planning to record this webinar and post the recording on our podcast**



Sunday, November 13, 2022

St. Vincent's Health Fair

The Dermatology Interest Group hosted a booth at the annual St. Vincent's Health Fair on Saturday, November 12th. The health fair is a community-wide event focused on providing health screening opportunities, health resources, and health education to the underserved population of Galveston. The booth provided participants with free skincare items as well as educational materials on sun protection, sunscreen usage, and spotting skin cancers. Thank you to those who participated!

Pictured (from left to right): Sebastian Certuche (MS1), Sonia Patel (MS1), Fareen Momin (MS3), Melissa Marchan (MS2), Maggie Fitzgibbon (MS3), Michael Adki (MS2)


Sunday, October 30, 2022

DIG Research Year Seminar

DIG will be hosting a talk on research years on Monday, November 7th. If interested, please see the attached flyer for more information.



H4H October Event

Thanks to all of our DIG volunteers for making our October 21 Hats for the Homeless program a success!


From left the right: Madelyn Schmidt (MS1), Nina Martens (MS2), Inchara Raj (MS1), Chinenye Onejeme (MS2)

Saturday, October 29, 2022

Register Today! THIRTIETH ANNUAL JOHN M. KNOX, M.D. MEMORIAL LECTURE

          When

Saturday, November 12, 20228:30 a.m.— 12:00 p.m.

 

RSVP Here

 

Featured SPEAKER

Julia Dai, MD

Assistant Professor

Department of Dermatology

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Auris Huen, MD, PharmD

Associate Professor

Department of Dermatology

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

 

Madeleine Duvic, MD

Deputy Department Chair

Department of Dermatology

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Topic

“Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma: Past, Present, and Future ”

 

Where

You Choose! It’s via Zoom Webinar

 

Please RSVP by Thursday, November 10, 2022 to RSVP Here

 

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

DMIME Dermatology Guest Speaker


If you’re interested in attending, please fill out the following RSVP form(PIZZA & DRINKS WILL BE AVAILABLE): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPw7s9UbxhkvnMPXF3qMq4QKbVk4nfLua-1x3aqiMNprGtcw/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

Event Details:

WHEN: November 9th, 2022

TIME: 12-1 PM

LOCATION: HEC 3.206

 

“You are invited to a Zoom webinar.

When: Nov 9, 2022 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Reflections On A Career In Dermatology

 

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://zoom.us/j/96935859583?pwd=Y3d6a05lMVZnSEprQm54NXoxRUlxdz09

Passcode: 328106

Or One tap mobile :

    US: +13462487799,,96935859583#,,,,*328106#  or +16694449171,,96935859583#,,,,*328106#

Or Telephone:

    Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

        US: +1 346 248 7799  or +1 669 444 9171  or +1 669 900 6833  or +1 719 359 4580  or +1 253 215 8782  or +1 564 217 2000  or +1 646 931 3860  or +1 929 436 2866  or +1 301 715 8592  or +1 309 205 3325  or +1 312 626 6799  or +1 386 347 5053

Webinar ID: 969 3585 9583

Passcode: 328106

    International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/aBjQjnG2t


 

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Join the National Psoriasis Foundation for BINGO on Nov 9th

The National Psoriasis Foundation invites you to join us for a fun night of dinner, drinks, and bingo at our Pstamp Out Psoriatic Disease event on Wednesday, November 9th at The SAM Houston Hotel. This event raises funds to help us move closer to a cure and provide support to improve the lives of millions affected by psoriatic disease.

 

As a THANK YOU for your ongoing commitment to our mission, NPF would like to extend a discounted ticket or table price, just for you! Save $50 off the ticket price for a couple, using promo code “pstamp50” OR take $100 off a Table for 10 with promo code “pstamp100”. Simply apply the promo code when you go to purchase tickets on the website.

Monday, October 24, 2022

UTMB DIG President Publishes Honors Research Project

Congratulations to Andrea Francis, the 2022-2023 UTMB Dermatology Interest Group President for her recent publication (October 24, 2022), “Providing Hats and Sun Safe Information to Galveston’s Homeless: Practicing Safe Sun in Galveston,”  in the peer-reviewed journal, The Online Journal of Community and Person-Centered Dermatology (OJCPCD). The article is currently available online https://ojcpchc.com/most-recent/ . Her co-author and UTMB Honors Research Project mentor was Dr. Richard Wagner, UTMB Dermatology Program Director. Please congratulate Andrea the next time you see her!

Design Tips Webinar

The Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and the Vice President of Research invite you to an upcoming Biorender webinar, “Design Tips for Better Science Posters,” on Nov. 1.

 

This webinar is free to all faculty, post-docs, staff, residents, fellows, and students at UTMB, so scroll down to register!  


BioRender is a web-based program that helps you create scientific figures up to 50x faster than traditional tools. The tool combines a library of over 50,000 scientifically accurate, expert-validated life science icons and templates for creating publication-quality figures in minutes - no drawing skills required!


In this one-hour webinar, learn actionable tips and techniques for designing research posters. You'll also learn how to quickly create individual figures for your poster, including experimental methods and biological pathways, with an introduction to the BioRender software.


Design Tips for Better Posters @ UTMB

Date: Tuesday, November 1, 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Register Here: https://biorender.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jl20O6WJTcWSU0po6jaEWg?utm_campaign=Better+Posters+%40+UTMB&utm_content=BioRender+101&utm_medium=email_action&utm_source=customer.io#/registration 

Thursday, October 20, 2022

ACHFTS Halloween Event!

A Children’s House for the Soul (ACHFTS) will be hosting a Halloween Celebration on 10/28 from 6PM-9PM.  ðŸ§¡ðŸ’šðŸ’™ Please come out in your favorite, spooktacular attire! We will have pizza, drinks, and lots of opportunities to mingle with friends and the ACHFTS family.

 

Let us know if you can make it at:   https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/dBLxvZka

Friday, October 14, 2022

2023-2024 UTMB Dermatopathology Fellows

The two 2023-2024 UTMB Dermatopathology Fellows are:

Blake Vest (Dermatology)

University of Iowa

Trent Irwin, MD (Pathology)

University of Washington

Congratulations! We look forward to working with you!

Friday, October 07, 2022

UTMB Virtual Open House TODAY

Here is a friendly reminder that UTMB will be hosting a virtual open house today at 2 PM!