Conner Chan, MD Named UTMB Intern of the Year

Congratulations are due to Conner Chan, MD, who was just awarded the UTMB Outstanding First Year Resident Award by the UTMB Office of Graduate Medical Education. Conner graduated from UTMB last year is well known to past and present UTMB DIG members for his excellent teaching skills and compassionate patient care. He will be leaving UTMB next month to start dermatology residency at LSU.

Volunteers Needed for Camp Dermadillo in August

Dr. Alanna Bree, Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine( gogalvan@texaschildrens.org ) has requested that interested medical students contact her about Camp Dermadillo (Burton, Texas http://www.campdiscovery.org/location_dermadillo.html ) which is scheduled for
August 8-14th this year. They are especially in need of male counselors. Several UTMB medical students have participated in past years and they all have considered it an worthwhile experience.

UTMB MS3 Dermatology Research Honors Project Approved

A third year UTMB medical student, Jarad Levin, has recently had his dermatology research honors project topic approved: "Presentation of Skin Cancers in Latin Americans as Related to Their Access to Healthcare”. His UTMB dermatology faculty advisor on this research is Brent Kelly, MD.   

UTMB Dermatology Resident Scholarly Project Accepted for Publication

Dr. Josh Dimmick's dermatology scholarly project entitled, "UVL Lip Protection in a High Risk Population" has been accepted for publication by Household and Personal Care Today, a peer-reviewed Italian journal. His coauthors on this study were first year medical students Janese Laster and Donald Warren, and his faculty advisor was Dr. Richard Wagner. Publication is scheduled for September 2009. UTMB dermatology resident scholarly projects are usually started by January of the PGY-2 year and submitted for peer-reviewed publication by January of the PGY-4 year.

2009 Annual UTMB Medical Student Teaching Awards in Recognition of Excellent Teaching by Dermatology Resident and Faculty

Medical Student Teaching Award for Excellent Dermatology Teaching by a Senior Dermatology Resident: Julie Sracic Brantley, MD

Medical Student Teaching Award for Excellent Dermatology Teaching by Dermatology Faculty: Brent Kelly, MD

Leslie Markle presents Dr. Brent Kelly with the 2009 Medical Student Award for Excellent Dermatology Teaching by Dermatology Faculty

2009 Annual Dermatology Department Medical Student Awards

The UTMB DIG congratulates the following 2009 awardees:

2009 Awards to Medical Students

-Best Original Essay for "Skin Diseases Depicted in Cinema" course: Jennifer Vickers ("Skin Disease: A Public Misconception")

-Beiersdorf History of Dermatology Award: Elizabeth Williford ("Leprosy: Scourge of the Past and Present")

-Edgar B. Smith Endowed Scholarship Award for Excellent Dermatology Research by a Medical Student: Mara Dacso

-Thomas B. Freese Award for Overall Excellence in Dermatology: Leslie Scroggins Markle

Dr. Wagner (center) presents Leslie Scroggins Markle (left) and Mara Dacso (right) with 2009 Dermatology Awards

2009 UTMB Honors Research Program in Dermatology
-Mara Dacso: Magna Cum Laude ("Evaluation of Multi-Drug Therapy for Leprosy in the U.S.A. Using Daily Rifampin")
-Leslie Scroggins Markle: Magna Cum Laude ("The Balance of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 in Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis")
-Jennifer Vickers: Magna Cum Laude ("Pimple Popper, MD: Why Seinfeld is Consquential to Dermatology")

Good luck in your careers!

Reminder: Miles for Melanoma and Skin Screening this Weekend!

Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
May 16, 2009
Walk begins at 8:30am
Registration and t-shirt distribution from 8:00am-8:30am
UTMB Field House Track
215 Holiday Drive
Galveston, TX 77550

If you have access to a folding table or sound system, please contact Tatiana Sousa (tasousa@utmb.edu).

Leisurely Walk or Run
No fee to participate
Each Walker encouraged to raise at least $50.

To register visit: www.AimAtMelanoma.org
Click on: Aim for Action
Click on: Participate in a Fundraiser
Click on: Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
Click on: Galveston (FYI: Texas locations are: Amarillo, Dallas, Galveston, Houston)

Waiver and Pledge Sheet/Donations due the day of event.

If you cannot make the walk and would simply like to pledge a donation online, I have created a donation page in my name at this link: http://www.aimatmelanoma.org/aim-for-action/scheduled-fundraisers/walk/887/910.html

If you know a walker who will be collecting pledges, you can submit your donation to them by check payable to Aim at Melanoma.

****To follow the walk****
UTMB will have their annual cancer screening!
Time: 10am-1pm
Locations: Family Medicine Clinic on Stewart Rd and the South Shore Clinic in League City.
Students are needed to help register patients in both locations. It would be great to get a good turn out of volunteers from our group and divide them up so there is enough students both locations.

2009 NSRF Dermatology Poster Awardee

The 2009 National Student Research Forum (NSRF) Dermatology Poster Award was presented to Lisa Shiue from UT Houston Health Science Center for her poster entitled, "Increased Levels of CD4+25high Regulatory T cells in Patients with Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma after Extracorporeal Photopheresis." The Edgar B. Smith MD Memorial Award for Best Poster Presentation in Dermatology is given annually by the UTMB Department of Dermatology to recognize outstanding dermatology research by medical and graduate students who present their work at the NSRF in Galveston.

Emails for New DIG Blog Posts Not Working

We are aware that recent posts to the UTMB DIG blog are not being automatically sent to our subscriber email list and we are trying to correct it as soon as is possible. To subscribe to this blog and receive new posts (when this feature is working), please go to the link in the upper right hand corner and provide your contact information.

Graduation Honors for Dermatology Research Honors Program

Jennifer Vickers received Magna Cum Laude graduation honors today for her dermatology research thesis presentation, "Pimple Popper, MD: Why Seinfeld is Consequential to Dermatology." Her Honors Program Committee was composed by Drs. Simon Lewis, Richard Wagner (faculty advisor), Sharon Raimer and Brent Kelly. Congratulations to Jennifer for her interesting and innovative research about the impact of the media on dermatology and skin diseases.

Galveston County Health Fair

Hi everyone!
Galveston County Health Fair is right around the corner, and we would like to get an idea about who can help out this coming Saturday, April 18th. The fair is from 9 AM - 2 PM, and it would be great to have all of your smiling faces representing DIG! We are going to be making visors and giving out information on sun protection. It is super easy and lots of fun! We would like to have volunteers there as much as possible, but we understand that you are all very busy. Even if you can only come for an hour, we would love to see you there! If you can please send me an email letting me know when you can join us, I would really appreciate it. Be sure to send it to jlvicker@utmb.edu and not the mailing list. Also, please feel free to email me if you have any questions or suggestions.
Thanks!
Jennifer Vickers

Dermatology Honors Thesis Successfully Presented

Leslie Scroggins Markle presented her dermatology research honors project entitled, "The Balance of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 in Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis" today and was awarded Magna Cum Laude graduation honors. Her thesis committee was composed of Drs. Simon Lewis, Brent Kelly (faculty advisor), Sharon Raimer, and Richard Wagner. Please join the UTMB DIG in extending congratulations to Leslie on this wonderful academic achievement!

Hurricane Ike Disrupts MS3 Dermatology Honors Research Proposals

It has been noted that no current third year UTMB medical students have yet proposed a dermatology research honors thesis for dermatology for completion in the next academic year (2009-2010). Although current third year medical student are now past deadline (December 31, 2008), Dr. Simon Lewis, the Chair of the University Research Honors Program will usually accept late proposals from third year medical students if there is good chance that the proposed research project can be completed by April 2010 prior to graduation. Current third year medical students with an interest in this type of research are encouraged to contact dermatology faculty this month about honors research projects. Our dermatology department usually supports several projects each year, and most are successfully completed for graduation research honors. UTMB medical students are permitted to initiate honors research projects anytime during their medical school years, but in the past most participants initiate their projects during their third year.

Seinfeld is Topic of Dermatology Research Honors Program Thesis Presentation

Jennifer Vickers, a senior UTMB medical student, will present her dermatology research honors program topic, "Pimple Popper, MD: Why Seinfeld is Consequential to Dermatology"  in the dermatology conference room (4.112 McCullough Building) on Monday morning, April 20th, at 8 a.m. Dr. Richard Wagner, the UTMB Dermatology Program Director, was her faculty advisor on this project. All DIG members and those interested in media impact on the public's perception about health issues are invited to attend.
 

No Dermatology Acting Internship to be Offered at UTMB for Upcoming Academic Year

The UTMB Department of Dermatology has temporarily suspended its Acting Internship (AI) in Dermatology (DERU-4006) for the upcoming 2009-2010 academic year due to clinic reorganization following Hurricane Ike. Interested students are encouraged to take the Dermatologic Surgery (DERU-4003) or the Dermatopathology (DERU-4002) electives instead. The Austin Dermatology Program will continue to offer its Dermatology AI (DERO-4013) during all periods for UTMB students, so that remains an option for MSIV UTMB medical students who want to meet their AI graduation requirement with dermatology. UTMB students wanting to do away dermatology rotations at other dermatology residency programs should be aware that permission will not be given for the same course taken at an away campus if it has previously been taken at UTMB. This rule particularly impacts UTMB students taking the Clinical Dermatology (DERU-4010) course at UTMB, because this is also the elective that is most likely to be offered by other dermatology departments to visiting medical students. All of the remaining UTMB electives/selectives in dermatology are unchanged for the upcoming academic year.

Dermatology Honors Research Presentation Announcement

Leslie Scroggins will present her dermatology research honors project entitled, "The Balance of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 in Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis" at 8 am in the dermatology conference room on Monday, April 13th. Dr. Brent Kelly is Leslie's faculty advisor for this research. All DIG members and others interested in this topic are invited to attend.

2009-2010 Dermatology Electives and Selectives

Dermatology Electives:
DERR-4001 - Dermatology Research (Sharon Raimer, MD)
DERU-4002 - Dermatopathology (Brent Kelly, MD)
DERU-4003 - Dermatologic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology (Richard F. Wagner, MD)
DERU-4010 - Clinical Dermatology (Sharon Raimer)
DERO-4014 - Clinical Dermatology- Austin (Jason Reichenberg, MD)

Basic Science and Humanities Selectives:
DERU-4007 - Skin Diseases Depicted in Film (Richard Wagner, MD)
DERU-4008 - History of Dermatology (Richard Wagner, MD)
DERU-4011 - Skin Diseases in Modern World Literature (Richard Wagner, MD)
DERU-4012 - Narratives of Skin Diseases (Richard Wagner, MD)

Acting Internships:
DERO-4013 - Acting Internship (AI) in Dermatology-Austin (Jason Reichenberg, MD)

Welcome

Welcome to the Dermatology Interest Group at UTMB website! This site is intended to serve as a resource for medical students interested in dermatology as well as for dermatologists, residents, and physicians.

Help us improve this site and make it meet your needs by giving us feedback on what you'd like to see, as well as what suggestions for improvements (or critiques) you have. Please contact us at utmbdig@gmail.com.

Officers

2017-2018 Officers

President: Timothy Allen
Vice President: Keith Wagner
Fundraising - Uloma Ibezim
AIM Melanoma Walk Chairs: Paige Hoyer, Eduardo Rodriguez, Ryan Lawrence, Ben Falck
Sun Protection Chairs: Michael Ryan, Eric Mong, Caroline Cain, Joshua Hays
Psoriasis Awareness Chairs: Tara Akunna, Jacob Benavidez, Morgan Arnold

DIG Meeting Recap, 3-30-09

We elected our new officers tonight!

2009-2010 Officers
Galveston Co-President: Jarad Levin
Austin Co-President: Alison Wiesenthal
Vice President: Lindsey Hunter
Secretary: Janese Laster
Community Outreach Chair: Rebecca Phillips
Miles for Melanoma Chairs: Doug Heiner and Janese Laster
Second Year Rep: Kristopher McGill

Thanks to Dr. Wagner for presenting such helpful information regarding the 2009 Match!

Remember, the Galveston County Health Fair is coming up on April 18th. We will be making paper plate sunvisors for the kids and handing out sun safety info to the community.

Miles for Melanoma and Skin Cancer Screening: May 16th. Don't forget to register by April 15th to get a free shirt!
To register visit: www.AimAtMelanoma.org
Click on: Aim for Action
Click on: Participate in a Fundraiser
Click on: Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
Click on: Galveston
Contact Tatiana Sousa for more details. tasousa@utmb.edu

2009 Dermatology Honors Research Award

Mara Dacso presented her dermatology honors research entitled, "Evaluation of Multi-Drug Therapy for Leprosy in the U.S.A. Using Daily Rifampin" this morning in the dermatology conference room and was awarded Magna Cum Laude graduation honors. Her thesis committee was composed of Drs. Simon Lewis, Erica Kelly (UTMB faculty advisor), Sharon Raimer and Richard Wagner. Congratulations to Mara for this outstanding accomplishment!

2010 Dermatopathology Fellows Announced

Dr. Ramon Sanchez, the Director of the UTMB Dermatopathology Fellowship Program, has announced the two dermatopathology fellows for July 2010. They are Drs. Ryan Matherne, a PGY-2 Dermatology Resident at UTMB and Dr. John Cangelosi, a senior Pathology Resident at UTMB. Dr. Matherne will complete his dermatology residency at UTMB prior to the dermatopathology fellowship, and Dr. Cangelosi will complete his general pathology residency and take an additional year of surgical pathology fellowship at MD Anderson before starting the dermatopathology fellowship at UTMB.

DIG meeting on March 30th

The next DIG meeting will be held on Monday, March 30, 2009 at 5PM in the Dermatology conference room (4.112 McCullough). We will be discussing the recent residency match, upcoming events (i.e. UTMB Skin Screening, Miles for Melanoma, Galveston County Health Fair), and we will be electing new officers for 2009-2010. Officer positions include President, Vice President, Secretary, Community Outreach Chairperson, Miles for Melanoma Chairperson, and Class Representatives. Teleconferencing will be available for those who are not in Galveston, but would like to participate. If you have any questions, please contact Mara (madacso@utmb.edu). We hope to see you there!

UTMB Proposes Increased House Staff Salaries

UTMB has proposed the following house staff salaries, starting in September 2009:

PGY-2: $45,550. (First year dermatology resident)

PGY-3: $47,179. (Second year dermatology resident)

PGY-4: $48,950. (Third year dermatology resident)

PGY-5: 50,636. (Dermatopathology fellow)

These proposed salary increases are subject to approval by the UT System Board of Regents.

Dermatology Honors Research Thesis Presentation

Mara Dacso will present her dermatology honors research topic ("Evaluation of Multi-Drug Therapy for Leprosy in the U.S.A. Using Daily Rifampin") on Monday, March 30, 2009 in the UTMB Dermatology Conference Room (4.112 McCullough) at 8am. All DIG members and others interested about this topic are invited to attend. Dr. Erica Kelly and Dr. David Scollard were Ms. Dacso's faculty advisors.

2009 NRMP Results Announced for UTMB Dermatology

UTMB Dermatology successfully matched with three applicants in the 2009 NRMP. They are, in alphabetical order:

Mara Dacso (UTMB)

Julie Martin, MD (LSU-NO, 3 years of General Surgery Residency at UTMB, Cutaneous Oncology Fellowship at Harvard)

Leslie Scroggins (UTMB)

The UTMB DIG offers its congratulations!

Dermatology Residents and Staff Congratulate Incoming Dermatology Residents at UTMB Match Party. (left to right: Dr. John Stephens, Leslie Scroggins, Kimberly Cooper, Mara Dacso, Dr. Mika Yamazki, Dr. David Raimer)

UTMB Dermatology Residency Fills in 2009 NRMP

UTMB Dermatology has matched for three PGY-2 dermatology residents who will start in July 2010. Our dermatology department will learn which applicants they matched with on Wednesday and the applicants will be notified on Thursday.

Austin DIG Members Reach out to 300 Students!

This past Friday, March 13th, DIG members and volunteers visited Travis Heights Elementary School in Austin to teach 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about sun safety. Students were also given UV bead bracelets to show them when they are being exposed to the sun's harmful rays. The response from the students was wonderful!

Thanks to Alison Wiesenthal, MSIII for her hard work in planning the visit and for getting the funding to teach kids about this important topic! She plans to reach out to more schools in the future.

Annual UTMB Deparment of Dermatology Cancer Screening

Following the Miles for Melanoma walk on May 16th at 8AM, the UTMB Department of Dermatology will have its annual cancer screening from 10AM-1PM. The screenings will be held at the Family Medicine Clinic on Stewart Road (6710 Stewart Rd.) and the South Shore Clinic in League City (6465 South Shore Blvd.). Student volunteers are needed to help register patients in both locations. Please email Tatiana (tasousa@utmb.edu) for more information.

Next DIG Meeting, 3/30

Our next DIG meeting will be held March 30, 5 pm in McCullough 4.112. Dr. Wagner will be presenting statistics and information regarding the 2009 Match. Also, we will be holding officer elections for next year.

If you would like to join the meeting but are not in Galveston, we are offering the opportunity to join via teleconference. More information on this to come!

UTMB DIG Miles for Melanoma Walk

Aim for a Cure Miles for Melanoma Walk
May 16, 2009
Walk begins at 8:30am
Registration and t-shirt distribution from 8:00am-8:30am
UTMB Field House Track
215 Holiday Drive
Galveston, TX 77550
If you have someone you would like to do the walk in honor of this year, please send me their name and we will include it on the Galveston online flyer/site for online registration.
More information to come with online registration instructions, etc.
Thank you!
Tatiana S. Sousa, MSIV
University of Texas Medical Branch
tasousa@utmb.edu

Good Luck in the 2009 NRMP "Dermatology Match!"

This week dermatology applicants finalized their "match list" with the NRMP for 2009. In a few weeks they will learn the results. The UTMB DIG wishes all of its past and current members the best of luck in matching into their top ranked programs!

2009 Annual Dermatopathology Review

UTMB will host its annual dermatopathology review on the weekend of June 6th and 7th in Galveston. Previous course participants have really enjoyed the course and it is a good way to self-access your knowledge in dermatopatholgy because of the self-scored pre-tests administered before the lecture-based discussion of all cases presented. All of the UTMB dermatology residents generally attend as well as some of the dermatology faculty and dermatology residents from other programs. Pathology residents and practicing pathologists attend the course as well. Ten hours of Category I CME credit can be earned through this course. UTMB medical students are invited to attend the course without charge. Please contact Ms. Kimberly Cooper (telephone 409-772-1911 or email kjcooper@utmb.edu) for additional information if you are interested in pre-registering and attending.

UTMB Dermatology Interest Group Community Outreach In Austin

UTMB's project Stay Shady!: Sun Protection for Kids is visiting Austin area elementary schools next month teaching youngsters how to stay safe in the sun.  Medical students will give a brief presentation including a dynamic use of a "blacklight," as well as having the students make UV bead bracelets with clear beads that respond to sun exposure by turning color.

Free Stay Shady! T-shirts and complimentary lunch provided! All we need is about an hour of your time during the school week.  
If you want to be part of our teaching team of 5 people, please e-mail acwiesen@utmb.edu   
 
This is a fun and rewarding way to help your community.  No experience required!
 

UTMB Continues to Provide Board Certified Dermatologists to Texas

Most of our UTMB DIG members are aware that currently there is a national shortage of dermatologists. However, UTMB is certainly doing its part to provide excellent dermatologic care to Texans over a wide geographic area in our state. The UTMB Dermatology Residency graduated 11 Dermatology Residents from 2005 through 2008, and all but one has remained in Texas. UTMB-trained dermatologists now practice in Austin (Dr. Renee Snyder), College Station (Dr. Jason Weaver), Conroe (Dr. Andy Perri), Dallas (Dr. Allison Readinger), Galveston (Drs. Rebecca Kelso and Brent Kelly), Houston (Dr. Karan Sra), Hurst (Dr. Stacy Beaty), San Angelo (Dr. Mark Ramirez) and Tomball (Dr. Vicki Carr). The lone practice outside of Texas from this group of former UTMB dermatology residents is Dr. Matt Brentjens (Edenton, North Carolina).

Meeting Recap

We had a great turnout at the meeting last night! Thanks to Dr. Wagner for his interesting talk on "Dermatology in the Media." If you are interested in this topic, Dr. Wagner teaches "Skin Disease Depicted in Film," which may be taken for elective or BSHS credit.

We discussed future community service projects, including visiting local schools to teach about sun protection and a Miles for Melanoma walk. Stay tuned for more details!

Thanks to the medical and PA students for joining us! I believe we had a record attendance.

Reminder: Meeting Tomorrow

Please join us in the Dermatology Conference Room, McCullough 4.112 tomorrow (1/26) at 5:00. Please contact Leslie Scroggins (lkscrogg@utmb.edu) if you would like to join in by teleconference. Dr. Wagner will be presenting a talk on "Dermatology in the Media."

Dermatology Interest Group Meeting on January 26th

Please join us at 5PM on January 26th in the conference room of the Dermatology Department (4.112 McCullough Building) for our DIG meeting. We will be talking about upcoming events such as Miles for Melanoma and a visit to a local Galveston elementary school for a sun protection workshop. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about the seniors' experiences with away rotations and the interview trail in general. In addition, Dr. Richard Wagner will be giving a talk on 'Dermatology in the Media'. If you would like to attend the meeting but are not currently in Galveston, a teleconference can be arranged. If you have any questions, please contact Mara Dacso (madacso@utmb.edu) or Leslie Scroggins (lkscrogg@utmb.edu). We hope to see you there!

Dr. Brent Kelly Named Dermatology Assistant Program Director

The UTMB Department of Dermatology announced that Brent Kelly, MD has been appointed the Assistant Dermatology Program Director for Dermatology. He will assist Dr. Richard Wagner, the Dermatology Program Director. Dr. Kelly is a graduate of LSU-NO School of Medicine and completed residency training in internal medicine at UTMB before taking a second residency in dermatology (UTMB) and a dermatopathology fellowship (UTMB). Dr. Wagner also completed a residency in internal medicine before dermatology residency and a Mohs fellowship.

Congratulations to Dr. Brent Kelly in his new departmental role!

UTMB Dermatology to Offer Three PGY-2 Positions in 2009 NRMP

The Dermatology Department at UTMB was pleased to learn today from UTMB Administrators that three positions for PGY-2 dermatology residents will be offered in the upcoming 2009 NRMP. The matched dermatology residents will begin dermatology training at UTMB in July 2010, after completing their PGY-1 year. This will be the third year in a row that 3 residency positions are being offered.