UTMB Dermatology Fills All 8 Residency Positions

Congratulations to the UTMB Department of Dermatology for once again filling all 8 of their residency positions. The total includes 6 advanced positions that begin on July 1, 2027, 1 physician only 2+2 research track position that starts this July, and one 5 year 2+2 research track position that includes a PGY1 position in Internal Medicine at UTMB.

Where are they now?

Thanks to the efforts of Danielle Miller (MS3, DIG Education Chair) and Nikitha Adari (MS3), the maps in the Dermatology administrative offices are updated to represent the practice locations of UTMB Dermatology graduates. They include the locations of residency graduates (red), residency + Mohs graduates (yellow), Mohs graduates (blue), residency + dermatopathology graduates (green), and dermatopathology graduates (orange). Come by the department and check them out! 

UTMB MS4 Publishes in JAAD

Congratulations to Gengi Kleto (MS4) for her recent publication “Infection with hepatitis C, not hepatitis B confers increased risk of lichen planus: A TriNetX study” as a brief report in JAAD. Her co-authors were Dr. Umer Nadir (Department of Dermatology, Baylor University Medical Center), Dr. Sahiti Talasila (Transitional Year Residency, Orange Park Hospital), Dr. George Jeha (Department of Dermatology, Baylor University Medical Center), and Dr. Stanislav Tolkachjov (Department of Dermatology, Baylor University Medical Center).

 

Citation: Infection with hepatitis C, not hepatitis B confers increased risk of lichen planus: A TriNetX study. Kleto, Gengi et al. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 0, Issue 0. https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(26)00273-2/fulltext

Successful Research Honors Program Thesis Defense

Congratulations to MS4 Madelyn Schmidt for her successful thesis defense on Friday, March 6, 2026 on the topic of “Evaluating the Image-Based Diagnostic Accuracy of ChatGPT in Dermatology: A Comparative Analysis Between AI Models and Dermatologists.” Her supervising faculty was Janice Wilson (Associate Professor of Dermatology) and her thesis committee members were Kathleen Kroger (Assistant Professor of Dermatology), Richard Wagner (Professor Dermatology, Residency Program Director), and Jiefei Wang (Assistant Professor of Biostatistics & Data Science). The ad hoc committee advised the UTMB Honors Research Steering Committee that Ms. Schmidt should receive Magna Cum Laude graduation research honors for her work, and their recommendation was supported by the institutional committee.

UTMB Dermatology Recognized for Community Service

Congratulations to Dr. Alyssa Hansen (PGY3 UTMB Dermatology Resident) and Anthony Linfante (Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Dermatopathology) for their Healthcare Heroes Awards recognition by St. Vincent’s Clinic in Galveston. They volunteer their professional services in the evening to unsponsored patients with skin diseases, and work with UTMB medical students there.

DIG at the St. Vincent’s Health Fair

This past Saturday, DIG hosted a sun safety and skin cancer education booth at the annual St. Vincent’s Health Fair, engaging community members in conversations about prevention and early detection! 

Pictured from left to right: Presley Limon (MS3), Matthew De La Garza (MS2), Smiti Gandhi (MS3), Sydney McDaniel (MS3)

MS3s Bring Light Therapy to St. Vincent’s Clinic

Kate Benandi, MS3 (left), Luke Hamilton, MS3 (top right), and Andrew Spires, MS3 (not pictured) worked with Dr. Linfante (bottom right) to coordinate the donation of a light box from a generous UTMB patient. This equipment will be used to treat a variety of dermatologic conditions and will be a valuable addition to patient care services at St. Vincent’s Clinic.

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

Increasing Cost for Dermatology Residency Applications

According to recently published research from the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, the cost for dermatology residency applicants has increased since 2021 largely due to the costs of away rotations and the costs of in-person interviews (Cutis 2025;116:216-217). The total average expenses in 2021 was $6235, while it more than doubled in 2024 to $13,087.

5% Salary Increase for UTMB Housestaff in 2026

Pending approval by the UT System Board of Regents, a 5% salary increase for UTMB Housestaff will go into effect for the 2026-2027 academic year:

Dr. Lindy Ross Certified in Pediatric Dermatology

Congratulations to UTMB Dermatology Assistant Professor Lindy Ross, MD for achieving board certification in the subspecialty of pediatric dermatology following examination by the American Board of Dermatology this year.

UTMB Interviews for Dermatology Residency Applicants

UTMB Dermatology will interview applicants for dermatology residency positions in January 2026. Invited applicants were from 14 different states or territories and 25 different medical schools (7 in Texas). 29 applicants were current or past rotators in the department, and an additional 11 applicants were non-rotators. 9 applicants had additional research degrees (PhD, MPH, or Master’s) in additional to MD degrees.

UTMB Named as Qualified Treatment Center for ZEVASKYN®, a treatment for Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (RDEB)

Abeona Therapeutics® has announced that UTMB is New Qualified Treatment Center for ZEVASKYN® in Texas.

ZEVASKYN (prademagene zamikeracel) is a FDA-approved autologous gene therapy that is indicated for the treatment of wounds in adult and pediatric patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). UTMB Dermatology Assistant Professors Drs. A. Munoz and L. Ross, along with Nurse Manager Jennifer Tribble, MSN, RN were instrumental in getting this new therapy available in Galveston.

 

UTMB 2026-2027 Mohs Fellow Announced

Congratulations to Renat Ahatov, MD, a current PGY4 UTMB dermatology resident for matching into the UTMB MSDO Fellowship starting in July 2026. He will be the 11^th UTMB Mohs fellow. We are all looking forward to working with you!

UTMB MS4 Publishes in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Congratulations to Madelyn Schmidt, UTMB MS4 and President of the UTMB DIG for her recent publication about tranexamic acid and melanoma risk in the highly regarded peer-reviewed journal, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Her UTMB co-authors are UTMB PGY3 dermatology resident, Dr. Marie Vu, UTMB MS3  S. Gandhi, and UTMB Professor Dermatology and Chair, Dr. Michael Wilkerson.  

The citation is: Schmidt M, Vu M, Smiti Gandhi, Wilkerson M. A retrospective cohort study evaluating the impact of tranexamic acid on melanoma risk. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2025 Nov;93(5):1301-1303. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2025.07.006. Epub 2025 Jul 8. PMID: 40639475.

Where are they now?

Ever wonder where UTMB dermatology residents practice dermatology when they graduate? Thanks to the efforts of two UTMB MS3s (Danielle Miller and Nikitha Adari), along with administrative support from Rey Lopez and Michelle Karn, two new maps in the Chair’s administrative offices show where our graduates practice. In addition, plans are underway to map where our fellowship trainees go with supspecialty expertise in dermatopathology and Mohs surgery, as well as those with combined training in dermatology and either dermatopathology or Mohs surgery at UTMB.

UTMB Hosting Japanese Dermatologist During December 2025

Please welcome Dr. Mana Myoshi, who will be visiting the UTMB Department of Dermatology for 2 weeks during December 2025 as part of the exchange program with Hokkaido, Japan's Tokushukai Hospital (TKH). It will be a great learning opportunity for everyone!

Dr. Erica Kelly Featured Speaker at Houston Dermatological Society Monthly Meeting

Congratulations to Dr. Erica Kelly (Clinical Professor, UTMB Department of Dermatology, and Director of the UTMB Cosmetic Dermatology Service) who was the featured speaker at the December 2025 Houston Dermatological Society Meeting on the topic “Estrogen Creams: Science or Hype?”

Congratulations Dr. Corley Pruneda!

Corley Pruneda, MD (UTMB’s 2024-2025 Mohs Fellow) successfully passed the American Board of Dermatology subspecialty examination in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery. She is the 9^th consecutive UTMB Mohs fellow to successfully pass this examination on the first attempt. Dr. Pruneda is currently in private practice in San Angelo, Texas.

UTMB PGY2 Dermatology Resident Publishes on Steatocystomas

Congratulations to UTMB PGY2 dermatology resident, Julien Bourgeois, MD for his recent co-authorship of the clinical review, “Steatocystomas: Update on Clinical Manifestations, Diagnosis, and Management” in the peer-reviewed journal, Cutis 116(4):138-142, E3-E5, 2025.

UTMB Changes Dermatology Residency Interview Dates for 2026

Instead of interviewing in February as originally planned, UTMB Dermatology will now interview applicants for our dermatology residency program on Thursday and Friday afternoons in January (1/15, 1/16, 1/29, and 1/30). Departmental release of interview offers are expected to begin in early December.

UTMB DIG Hosts Biopsy Workshop

On Tuesday evening, DIG hosted a biopsy workshop where students learned about different biopsy methods and practiced shave and punch biopsies using bananas as skin models. Special thanks to Drs. Peter Nguyen (PGY-4), Kristen Kay (PGY-3), and Julien Bourgeois (PGY-2) for joining us to demonstrate proper biopsy technique!