Miles For Melanoma

The Miles for Melanoma Walk benefiting Melanoma Cancer Research & Awareness will take place on May 20, 2006 at the UTMB track (across from the field house) at 215 Holiday Drive. It is a 3.3 mile walk with kick-off beginning at 8:30 a.m. Registration deadline is May 5, 2006. Registrations received by April 14, 2006 will ensure a free t-shirt and a Goody Bag. There is no fee to participate, however, each walker is encouraged to raise at least $50 in pledges. To register, please visit www.TheSchlip.com and click on the Miles for Melanoma Logo and follow the directions.

The UTMB Department of Dermatology will be offering free skin cancer screenings after the walk from 10 am - 1 pm at the Galveston Family Health Clinic at 3828 Avenue N in Galveston (39th and N Ave)

This event is in conjunction with the DIG and the Student Occupational Therapy Association.

Honors Thesis Results

Congratulations to Chad Crim and Emily Fridlington who were awarded Magna Cum Laude research graduation honors today for their research thesis presentations.

Chad Crim's research was entitled, "A Histopathologic Review Comparing Seborrheic Keratoses Excised by Dermatologists vs. Nondermatologists"

Emily Fridlington's research was entitled, "Cutaneous Vibrio Infections: A Review of Patients Presenting to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX, January 1996-November 2005"

March DIG Meeting

The DIG held its March meeting on March 20, 2006. New officers were elected for the 2006-2007 term. Congratulations to new co-presidents, Ashley Group and Fadi Constantine!!! Our new community outreach coordinator is Courtney Freasier!

We also discussed the upcoming community service projects including:
1) High school sun safety program: Jennifer Pike will coordinate the dates with the high schools and the DIG will hold a meeting to review the presentation prior to the date.

2) Miles for Melanoma: The DIG plans on holding a "Miles for Melanoma" walk to take place on May 20, 2006. Courtney Freasier will coordinate the site and send out announcements once plans are finalized. Members of DIG, as well as, community members will obtain pledges to go toward melanoma research. After the walk, participants will be encouraged to attend the department of dermatology's skin cancer screening. The walks are coordinated with the Schlip Foundation. For more information on Miles for Melanoma, please visit www.theschlip.com

3)AAD Skin Cancer Screening: On May 20, 2006 the DIG will participate in the AAD skin cancer screening. The screening will take place from 10 am - 1 pm. Members will assist in registering patients and distributing information on skin cancer, sun safety and sunscreen samples.

Congratulations to 3rd year dermpaths

Congratulations to Dr. Allison Readinger for accepting a dermatopathology fellowship at UT-Houston with Dr. Ron Rapini beginning July 2006!

Both of senior dermatology residents will be doing dermpath fellowships in July (Dr. B. Kelly will remain at UTMB for dermpath).

Dermatology Interview Questions 2005-2006

Interview questions compiled by UTMB Dermatology applicants 2005-2006
QUESTIONS:

Tell me about yourself.

How did you become interested in dermatology?

Tell me something unique about yourself so that I will be able to remember you later.

If you did not go into medicine, what do you think you would have done instead?

Teach me something non-medical.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?

What has been your biggest failure?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

What can you bring to this program?

What do you like to do outside of school?

Tell me about an interesting dermatology case you have seen.

What are your plans if you do not match?

If you were not going into dermatology, what other field might you have gone into?

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

What do you want to do after residency?

Tell me about a time that you went beyond expectations for a patient.

What do you not enjoy about medicine?

Tell me about your leadership experience.

Do you have any questions?

Who in your family are you most like?

If you were a breakfast cereal, what would you be?

What is one word your friends would use to describe you?

Sum up your life in 1 sentence?

If you had to say 1 reason why people may not like you, what would it be?

If you could have lunch with one famous person, who would it be?

Favorite book/movie?

Tell me about your research?

Why did you major in __________ in college?

Describe your perfect day.

Name a time in your life when you failed and how you overcame it?

What would your mom/best friend say about you?

How do you want to be remembered?

What do you like/dislike about your own derm. program?

How do you feel about parents who make their children work in college?

What are you afraid of?

Why did you apply here in particular?

What was your favorite extra-curricular activity in medical school?

Tell me about your volunteer activities?

What types of interview questions do you not like to be asked?

If I could only ask you one question, what would you want me to ask you?

What have you liked/disliked about your other interviews?

Who is your best friend?

Are you interested in research?

Tell me your biggest challenge in medical school.

What type of leader are you?

What type of study habits do you have/ what was your formula for success in medical school?

How will you support your co-residents?

Have you had a chance to get familiar with the city?town?etc.

Describe something in my office.

What sticks out as interesting to you in my office?

Be prepared to answer questions about any information you put on your CV and Personal Statement

Dermatology interviews offered to UTMB students 2005-2006

UTMB medical students/graduates interviewed at 24 sites for a residency in Dermatology.

Dartmouth

Marshfield Clinic

Mayo, Rochester

Medical University of South Carolina

Medical College of Wisconsin

NYU

Scott and White

Southern Illinois University

St. Louis University

SUNY Buffalo

U. of Alabama, Birmingham

University of California Davis

University of California Irvine

University of Iowa

University of Missouri

University of South Florida

University of Tennessee, Memphis

University of Wisconsin, Madison

UT Houston

UTMB

UT San Antonio

U. of Wisconsin, Madison

U. of Virginia

Texas Tech

Honor's Thesis Result

Congratulations to Joslyn Witherspoon who was awarded Magna Cum Laude research graduation honors today for her honors research thesis presentation entitled

Public Health Efforts in the Prevention of Lip Cancer: Improving Awareness and Promoting Lip Protection Behavior Among the General Public

Upcoming DIG meeting reminder

The next DIG meeting will be Monday, March 20th in the Dermatology Conference Room (4.112 McCullough) at 5:00pm. We well be having officer elections.

Additionally, we will be voting for a senior dermatology resident and one dermatology faculty member for the annual medical student teaching awards. Please plan on attending.

CONGRATULATIONS to those Matched at UTMB

Julie Fridlington--UTMB
Ryan Matherne--LSU

CONGRATULATIONS to the Matches of 2006

4th year medical students from UTMB that matched:

Jennifer Pike--Scott and White
Julie Fridlington---UTMB
Emily Fridlington--University of Iowa

Former UTMB medical student:

Tasneem Poonawalla--University of Wisconsin, Madison

Honors Project Presentations

There will be 3 honors project presentations this year. All presentations will take place in the Dermatology Conference Room.

1.) Presenter: Joslyn Witherspoon, MS IV
Title: Public Health Efforts in the Prevention of Lip Cancer: Improving Awareness and Promoting Lip Protection Behavior Among the General Public
Date: March 17, 2006 3 p.m.

2.) Presenter: Chad Crim, MS IV
Title: A Histopathologic Review Comparing Seborrheic Keratoses Excised by Dermatologists vs. Nondermatologists
Date: March 24, 2006 1:30 p.m.

3.) Presenter: Emily Fridlington, MS IV
Title: Cutaneous Vibrio Infections at UTMB
Date: March 24, 2006 3 p.m.

February DIG Meeting

The third meeting of the DIG was held February 28, 2006. In attendance were 5 current members of the DIG and 2 new members along with faculty advisor Dr. Wagner. We were pleased to have 2 new members join the DIG, including Courtney Freasier who is a 5 year survivor of melanoma. Courtney shared her wonderful story of survival with the group. Topics discussed included the following:
1)Galveston County Health Fair community service project which will take place on March 4, 2006 at the Academy Sports Store from 9 am - 1 pm. The DIG will have a skin cancer and sun safety booth.
2)The High School outreach program with Ball High School and O'Connell High School will begin in April and May. Jennifer Pike, outreach chair, is coordinating the dates that the DIG can present sun safety workshops to students.
3)The AAD Skin Cancer Screening will also be taking place in May. The date is currently being finalized.
4)Other ideas that the DIG can implement in the future were also discussed. Including a possible fundraising activity to raise money for melanoma research, holding a lunch session with speaker and UTMB student Courtney Freasier about melanoma, and obtaining t-shirts for the DIG to advertise the group.
5)We are also looking for interested members to become officers for the year 2006-2007. Anyone interested in holding an office in the DIG, please contact co-presidents Emily Fridlington or Joslyn Witherspoon.

7th Annual Dermatopathology Course

The 7th annual Dermatopathology course will be held on April 29-30, 2006 on campus and conducted by Drs. Maria I. Colome-Grimmer, Daniel B. Crump, Sigurd J. Torgerson and Chris Nelson. This year there will be 143 glass microscopic slides and 70 kodachromes reviewed. Interested UTMB students are invited to attend and can register by contacting Amy Constantine at extension 2-1911.

Feb. DIG meeting

The next DIG meeting will be held Feb. 28th at 5:00 pm in the Dermatology Conference Room (4.112 John McCullough Bldg.). We plan to discuss the upcoming Galveston County Health Fair (March 4th) and election of new officers. Please plan on attending.

Dr. Kelso's Honors Program Research published

Congratulations to Dr. Becky Kelso and Dr. Wagner!

Dermatol Surg. 2006 Feb;32(2):177-83.


p75NGFR Immunostaining for the Detection of Perineural Invasion by Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Lewis Kelso R, Colome-Grimmer MI, Uchida T, Wang HQ, Wagner RF Jr.

BACKGROUND: Perineural invasion (PNI) in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) may portend a poor prognosis for patients. p75NGFR (nerve growth factor receptor) is part of a membrane receptor complex that binds nerve growth factor. Its use for detecting PNI in CSCC in comparison with S-100 immunohistochemical staining has not been explored. OBJECTIVE : To determine whether detection of PNI may be improved by staining with p75NGFR compared with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and S-100. METHODS: Thirty-four cases of CSCC were retrospectively evaluated for the presence of PNI using standard H&E, as well as S-100 and p75NGFR immunohistochemical stains. Staining intensity was correlated to the presence or absence of PNI and tumor differentiation. RESULTS: The results showed a positive correlation between staining intensity and the presence of PNI detected by p75NGFR (p = .04). Using p75NGFR allowed for the detection of seven cases of PNI not detected by H&E alone. Five of these cases were detected by S-100, with two cases seen by p75NGFR only. Six cases of PNI were detected using S-100 not seen on H&E, with one case also not seen using p75NGFR. CONCLUSION: p75NGFR immunostaining increased detection of PNI compared with H&E. p75NGFR could serve as an alternative to S-100 in the detection of PNI or as part of an immunostaining panel for PNI detection.

PMID: 16442036 [PubMed - in process]

Congratulations to Tasneem Poonawalla and Dr. Dayna Diven for their publication this month in The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology!

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006 Feb;54(2):324-5.
Related Articles, Links
Syphilis and the city.

UTMB DIG blog has been published in the Dermatology Online Journal

Congratulations to Tasneem Poonawalla and Dr. Richard Wagner for recent publication of an article on the UTMB DIG blog in the Dermatology Online Journal. The link is http://dermatology.cdlib.org/121/commentary/blog/wagner.html for those wishing to view the article.

January DIG Meeting

The DIG held its second meeting on 1/24/06. In attendance were Dr. Wagner, Co-presidents Joslyn Witherspoon and Emily Fridlington, Jennifer Pike, Julie Fridlington, Julie Cummings, Kristin Pogue, and Karlie Heckaman.

The first half of the meeting consisted of a resident panel. The residents that graciously conducted the Q & A session were Dr. Sra, Dr. Perri, Dr. Ramirez and Dr. Weaver. Topics discussed included research opportunities, how to prepare for the boards, the typical day of a dermatology resident, and what makes a good dermatology applicant. We would like to thank the residents for coming and sharing their insight with the DIG.

The second half of the meeting was about community service projects that the DIG will be conducting which include:
1.) The Galveston County Health Fair on March 4, 2006 on Seawall at the Academy Sports Store Parking Lot. The DIG will have a table on skin cancer and sun safety with various informational brochures and sunscreen samples.
2.) The High School Outreach Program at Ball High will most likely take place in April or May of this year. We will contact the school in order to decide what dates work best for them.
3.) AAD Skin Cancer Screening will take place in May. The DIG will assist the dermatology department with their annual skin cancer screening by registering patients and providing them with material on skin cancer.

Case report featured on cover of Archives

The cover of this month's Archives of Dermatology features a case report by our very own Emily Fridlington!

Full reference:

Tzanck Smear as a Rapid Diagnostic Tool for Disseminated Cryptococcal Infection
Emily Fridlington, MS; Maria Colome-Grimmer, MD; Erica Kelly, MD; Brent C. Kelly, MD
Arch Dermatol. 2006;142:25-27.

DIG Meeting

The UTMB DIG will be having a meeting Jan 24th at 5:00 pm in the Dermatology Department conference room. We will have a resident panel to answer questions, and we'll be discussing the up coming Galveston County Healthfair. Please plan on attending.

UTMB Dermatopathology Fellowship Approval!!

ACMGE has recently approved a second dermatopathology fellowship position for the UTMB dermatology department. Third year dermatology resident, Dr. Brent Kelly will be one of the fellows beginning in 2006. Congratulations!!

Knox Lecture and Patient Viewing

What: Many interesting dermatologic cases will be presented followed by a lecture

Where: UTMB Dermatology Clinic with live patients followed by a lecture and presentation of cases at Levin Hall South

When: November 5, 2005 at 9:00 AM starting at the UTMB Dermatology Clinic

Who: All DIG members are invited to enjoy and learn from many unique dermatologic cases

Congratulations!

Congratulations to UTMB’s 2005 Dermatology Residency Program graduates for passing the recent American Board of Dermatology Certifying Examination. Our three new Diplomates of the American Board of Dermatology are:

Stacy Beaty, MD

Matt Brentjens, MD

Renee Snyder, MD

Reminder: 51st annual NSRF deadline is January 22

The 51st Annual National Student Research Forum is scheduled for April 22-23, 2010. Abstracts for submission must be postmarked by January 22nd. Check out the NSRF UTMB Homepage at: http://www.utmb.edu/nsrf/ for more details. Medical students, residents and graduate students are all able to submit abstracts about dermatology to this meeting.

Dr. Kelso presents at ASDS in Atlanta

2005 American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) Young Investigator Writing Competition Award winner, Dr. Rebecca Kelso presents her original research about perineural invasion by cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma at the annual ASDS meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Moderator Doris Day, MD (NY, NY) and session participant, Sachin Bhardwaj, MD (Minneapolis, MN) are also pictured. Dr. Kelso is currently a second year dermatology resident at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas.

First DIG meeting

The first DIG meeting was held 10/05/05. In attendance were Dr. Wagner, 3 new members, and Co-President Emily Fridlington. The meeting served as a general introduction to the DIG and provided new members with an opportunity to meet our faculty sponsor, Dr. Wagner. We discussed the goals for the year including plans to host a resident panel and opportunities for service and involvement in various projects such as the Galveston County Health Fair, the AAD Skin Cancer Screening, and Sunburn and Sun Safety Workshops. New members were also given information on the UTMB Honor's Research Program and encouraged to brainstorm further projects for the DIG.

DIG First General Meeting!!

The Dermatology Interest Group will be having its first general meeting on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the dermatology department conference room on the 4th floor of the John McCullough Building. Meeting is open to all students interested in learning more about the field of dermatology.

Interviews from 2004-2005

Arkansas
U of Arkansas

California
Loma Linda
MLK Drew
UC Davis
USC

Colorado
U of Colorado

Florida
U of Florida Gainsville
U of Miami

Illinois
Cook County
Loyola
University of Chicago
UIC

Kansas
KUMC

Minnesota
Mayo Clinic

New Hampshire
Dartmouth

New Mexico
U of New Mexico

Oklahoma
U of Oklahoma

Oregon
U of Oregon

South Carolina
MUSC

Tennessee
UT Memphis

Texas
Baylor
Scott and White
Texas Tech
UT Houston
UTMB
UTSW

Virginia
EVMS
U of Virginia

Dr. Wagner's Study on Suntan Addiction Making National News!!

Repetitive tanning behavior may indicate ‘suntan addiction’

UTMB dermatologist Dr. Richard Wagner appeared on ABC's "World News Tonight" on August 16, 2005, discussing his study of "suntan addiction," based on data gathered on Galveston beaches. The segment also included video of sunbathers in front of the San Luis Hotel answering questions used by Dr. Wagner in his study (adapted from common substance-abuse problem screening tools) which suggest that repetitive tanning behavior has much in common with alcoholism and drug addiction.

Dermatology Informational Meeting

August 9th, Baylor Department of Dermatology hosted an informational meeting regarding residency programs. Students from UT Houston, Baylor, and UTMB were in attendance as well as residents from the Baylor program. The meeting was hosted by Baylor faculty dermatologist Dr. Hsu. Drs. Wolf, Rosen, and residents spoke about the general application process and the various residency programs in the United States. From UTMB, Jennifer Pike, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla, and Emily Fridlington were present. Feel free to contact them with any questions.

Dr. Molly Warthan's UTMB Dermatology Honors Project Published

Congratulations to Molly M. Warthan, MD for her recent publication in the August 2005 Archives of Dermatology (Warthan MM, Uchida T, Wagner RF Jr. UV light tanning as a type of substance-related disorder. Arch Dermatol 2005;141:963-966). Molly received Summa Cum Laude graduation honors at UTMB for this Honors Program research in 2004.

Congratulations to the Class of 2004!

All members of the Class of 2004 interested in dermatology have secured a residency position in dermatology:

Connie Cheung -- Loma Linda
Norma Magee -- LSU
Mark Ramirez -- UTMB
Brent Spencer -- Scott and White
Julie Sracic -- UTMB
Molly Warthan -- EVMS

Congratulations to Rebecca Lewis Kelso, MD

Second year UTMB dermatology resident Rebecca Lewis Kelso, MD, was awarded a Young Investigator’s Writing Competition Award by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) for her original research manuscript entitled, “NGFR Immunostaining for the Detection of Perineural Invasion by Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.” She will be presenting this research at the next ASDS meeting. Her manuscript is currently in press at Dermatologic Surgery. This work was done as part of Dr. Kelso’s 2003 UTMB Honors Program.

Baylor Dermatology Informational

Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Dermatology faculty and residents invite students interested in dermatology for an informational session.

Location: Dr. Sylvia Hsu's House
Where: 5407 Valerie St., Bellaire,TX
When: Tuesday, August 9, 6:30pm
Phone: 713-798-7620

Please join the Baylor dermatology faculty and residents for dinner and drinks, as well as, an informational session about applying for a dermatology residency. Forward to other interested students in Dermatology -- but no personal guests please (i.e. spouse, friends, etc).

Please contact Emily Fridlington or Joslyn Witherspoon if you are interested in attending.

DIG educates Anglers

Members of the DIG, Joslyn Witherspoon and Emily Fridlington went to Kemah on June 17th and taught a skin cancer seminar for 100+ members of the Texas Women Anglers. The Anglers were hosting their annual fishing tournament to raise money for breast cancer. As part of the program involving lectures from mutiple organizations, the DIG was invited to speak.

Fun in the Dermatology Surgery Elective!

Senior Dermatology Resident Dr. Allison Readinger helps third year medical student Burgess Lankford (Dermatologic Surgery elective) with his dermatologic surgery technique during today’s pig’s foot training session. The session reviewed excisional surgery, full thickness skin grafts and random pattern skin flaps (advancement, rotation and transposition).

Dermatology Graduation Awards

Congratulations to winners of the Dermatology Graduation Awards!

Thomas W. Freese Memorial Award for Excellence in Dermatology
Amy McClung

Edgar B. Smith Endowed Scholarship in Dermatology
Tasneem Poonawalla

Faculty/resident teaching awards

Congratulations are in order for excellence in teaching!

Medical Student Award in Recogniztion of Excellent Faculty Dermatology Teaching: Richard Wagner, MD

Medical Student Award in Recognition of Excellent Resident Dermatology Teaching: Renee Snyder, MD

Dermatology Resident Award in Recognition of Excellent Faculty Dermatology Teaching: Dayna Diven, MD

Highschool sunburn and skin cancer outreach program

The DIG went to Ball High for 3 weeks and taught over 300 high school students about sunburn, tanning, and skin cancer.


Students are happy to learn!


Medical students (DIG members) are happy to teach!


A special thanks to Ashley Group who came to every single session of the 3 weeks we spent at Ball High!

Womens Dermatological Society: Medical Student Awareness Program

Work with a leading dermatologist and learn about this fascinating field of medicine...Grants of up to $2000 each will be awarded to qualifying medical students interested in learning more about dermatology by working with a leading dermatologist in private practice or at the university level.

Deadline date for 2006 awards is December 31, 2005

For more information, please visit Womens Dermatological Society: Medical Student Awareness Program.