Spring Texas Dermatological Society Call for Abstracts

Deadlines for submissions:

Application deadline for all: April 3, 2026

Abstract/Poster PDF deadline for all: April 10, 2026

Registration deadline: April 17, 2026

See texasdermatology.org for additional details and registration

UTMB PGY3 Dermatology Resident Nominated for 2026 UTMB GME Outstanding Resident of the Year Award

Congratulations to Travis Dowdle, MD for receiving the dermatology department’s nomination for the 2026 UTMB Graduate Medical Education Resident of the Year Award.

DIG x Hats for the Homeless Bake Sale Success!

We’re excited to celebrate the success of yesterday’s DIG Bake Sale! Thanks to the generosity of the UTMB community, we raised $500, which will directly support Hats for the Homeless.

A special acknowledgment to Kassianna Elizondo MS2 (Stay Shady Chair) and Ria Kanotra MS2 (Psoriasis Walk Chair) for baking the treats, organizing the bake sale, and educating the UTMB community about the Hats for the Homeless initiative. 

Photo 1 from left to right: Ria Kanotra MS2 (Psoriasis Walk Chair), Kassianna Elizondo MS2 (Stay Shady Chair)

Photo 2 from left to right: Zainab Yousaf MS2, Andrew Spires MS3, Amna Sidiq MS1, Kassianna Elizondo MS2 (Stay Shady Chair)

DIG x Hats for the Homeless Bake Sale

 

DIG is hosting a bake sale on Wednesday, February 11 from 9 AM to 3 PM at the HEC First Floor Lobby! Come support our efforts to raise funds for Hats for the Homeless, a community service initiative that provides sun protection and sun safety education to individuals experiencing homelessness.

UTMB Dermatology Analyzes Readability of Online Skin Cancer Resources

Congratulations to our UTMB team that recently published the results of their analysis of online skin cancer resources from major dermatology organizations in the United States. The authors include a UTMB medical student, dermatology residents and Mohs fellow, and faculty. The citation is:

 Momin, F., Gurram, A., Dowdle, T.S., Ahatov, R., Pinto-Cuberos, J., Winsett, F., Wagner, R.F. Jr. Readability of online skin cancer resources: a review of content from major dermatology societies. Arch Dermatol Res 318, 73 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00403-026-04529-3

Galveston Mardi Gras

The Galveston Daily News has released 9 videos that explore the history of Mardi Gras in Galveston. It is available at GALVNEWS.COM/MARDIGRAS.

UTMB PGY4 Dermatology Resident Attends Annual Dermatology Foundation Symposium

Congratulations to Renat Ahatov, MD (top left) for his selection by the Dermatology Foundation's to attend their annual scientific symposium in Naples, Florida last week. Dr. Ahatov will be the 2026-2027 UTMB Mohs fellow after he completes dermatology residency at UTMB this June.

MS4 Schedules UTMB Dermatology Honors Research Project Thesis Defense

All interested DIG members and the UTMB community are invited to attend UTMB MS4 Madelyn Schmidt’s Dermatology Honors Research Project Thesis Defense on Friday, March 6th, from 2:00–3:00 pm in Galveston at the Dermatology Conference Room (McCullough Building Room 5.124). Ms. Schmidt’s research presentation is “Evaluating the Image-Based Diagnostic Accuracy of ChatGPT in Dermatology: A Comparative Analysis Between AI Models and Dermatologists.” Her supervising faculty is Janice Wilson (Associate Professor of Dermatology) and her thesis committee members are Kathleen Kroger (Assistant Professor of Dermatology), Richard Wagner (Professor Dermatology, Residency Program Director), and Jiefei Wang (Assistant Professor of Biostatistics & Data Science).

Teams link for virtual attendance: 

Madelyn Schmidt's Dermatology Honors Thesis Defense | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Dr. Juan Pinto-Cuberos Nominated for the 2026 UTMB Outstanding Overall Fellow of the Year

Congratulations Juan Pinto-Cuberos, MD for his recent nomination for the 2026 UTMB Fellow of the Year Award. Each year the UTMB Graduate Medical Education Committee selects one of the current UTMB Fellows for this award.

Dr. Pinto-Cuberos is currently the UTMB Fellow in Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology (MSDO) with anticipated fellowship completion in June 2026. He accepted a faculty position in the UTMB Department of Dermatology following fellowship completion.

UTMB MS4 Publishes in JAAD

Congratulations to Christopher Thang (MS4) for his publication in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD), which found an association between hormonal contraception and development of periorificial dermatitis. 

His project was conducted with Dr. George Golovko, PhD (UTMB Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology) and Dr. Michael G. Wilkerson, MD, MS (Professor and Chair of UTMB Department of Dermatology).

 

Link: https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(26)00060-5/fulltext

 

Reference:

Thang CJ, Lai J, Garate D, et al. Hormonal contraception and development of periorificial dermatitis: a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX database. J Am Acad Dermatol. Published online January 21, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2026.01.021

UTMB PGY3 Dermatology Resident Named for “Resident of Distinction Award”

Congratulations to UTMB dermatology resident Travis Dowdle, MD for being selected as a 2026 Resident of Distinction.

Sponsored by Beiersdorf, the dermMentors™ Resident of Distinction Award™ recognizes 5 top US dermatology residents each year for their excellence and commitment to the future of dermatology. The award covers airfare, hotel accommodations, tuition fees to attend the Maui Derm Hawaii conference, and includes exclusive 1-on-1 Mentorship and Slide Review Sessions with national thought leaders in dermatology.  Recipients are also given dedicated podium time to present their research during the conference. Dr. Dowdle presented his research, “Impact of Anatomical Location on Stage Requirements in Mohs Micrographic Surgery: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study” at the meeting. His faculty mentor for the meeting was Dr. Linda Stein Gold, Director of Dermatology Clinical Research at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan, as well as Division Head of Dermatology at Henry Ford Health System in West Bloomfield, Michigan.

ACGME Continued Accreditation for all UTMB Dermatology Graduate Medical Education Programs

Congratulations to UTMB Dermatology for their Continued Accreditation for their Graduate Medical Education Programs in Dermatology, Dermatopathology, and Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology! The ACGME meets every January and evaluates WebADS submitted from each accredited program for evaluation.

UTMB MS4 Poster Awarded 2nd Place at AAD

Congratulations to Madelyn Schmidt (MS4, DIG President) and Travis Dowdle (PGY-3) on their poster, “Comparative Risk of Psoriatic Arthritis in Psoriasis Patients on Immunomodulators,” which was awarded second place at the annual American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Conference. Their poster was recognized as outstanding based on scientific importance, methodology, and presentation, selected from more than 2,300 high-quality poster exhibits. Their co-authors are Georgiy Golovko (Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology) and Ayezel Munoz (Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology).

Last Day to Apply to the 67th National Student Research Forum

Great opportunity for medical students and residents to submit their dermatology research! See https://www.utmb.edu/som/som-educational-affairs/office-of-research-scholarship/medical-student-research/nsrf for additional information.

Opportunity to Present Dermatology Research at UTMB’s Research Summit

 

UTMB Find a Doctor Website now includes Dermatology Residents

Recently the UTMB Website “Find a Doctor” includes UTMB Residents. This improvement should increase patient access and facilitate follow up appointments. See https://doctors.utmbhealth.com/ for additional details.

UTMB PGY4 Dermatology Resident Co-authors Case Report

Congratulations to PGY4 dermatology resident Mary Cavanagh, MD and Brent Kelly, MD (Professor Dermatology) on the publication of their recent case report, “Necrolytic acral erythema in an incarcerated population: A case series” in the peer-reviewed journal, JAAD Case Reports. The first author was former rotating medical student, Iman Ali, MD, from UTHSC who is currently in her PGY1 residency at Texas Health Resources Presbyterian in Dallas, Texas.

UTMB Dermatology Expands Dermatology Access in Galveston

UTMB Dermatology held its first 4-hour Saturday clinic in Galveston on January 10 ,2026 at the Stewart Road Clinic. This activity is completely voluntary for UTMB dermatology residents and dermatology trained fellows, and is considered “institutional moonlighting” with an hourly pay rate of $200 for dermatology residents and $200 for supervising dermatology fellows. Dermatology faculty are also able to volunteer to supervise residents. Those participating do not need any additional licensure or insurance over that provided by UTMB during their residency and fellowship training. Thank you Dr. Brent Kelly (Professor Dermatology) for all of your work to make this possible.

UTMB MS4 Publishes in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings

Congratulations to Madelyn Schmidt (UTMB MS4 and DIG President), Travis Dowdle (Dermatology PGY-3),  Georgiy Golovko (Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology), and Ayezel Munoz (Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology) on their recent publication. Their peer-reviewed publication, “Comparative risk of psoriatic arthritis in psoriasis patients on immunomodulators” was published as a brief report in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.

 

Citation: Schmidt, M., Dowdle, T. S., Golovko, G., & Munoz, A. (2025). Comparative risk of psoriatic arthritis in psoriasis patients on immunomodulators. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2025.2596529