Clinical Reflections®: The Learning Pathway in Atopic Dermatitis: Maximizing Positive Outcomes for Your Patients

 

Jonathan Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, is an associate professor in the Departments of Dermatology, Preventive Medicine, and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. Dr Silverberg is the director of the Northwestern Medicine Multidisciplinary Eczema Center and founded the Multidisciplinary Eczema Clinic at Northwestern Medicine. He is also the director of the contact dermatitis clinic and photobiologic testing at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which provides comprehensive evaluation and management of skin allergies and photosensitivity. He was the recipient of the Georg Rajka Medal from the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis, the Teacher of the Year Award in the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and the Everett C. Fox Research Award from the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dr Silverberg completed both his medical degree and master of public health degree at State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. His master's thesis focused on the protective role of herpesviridae on atopic dermatitis and other allergic disorders as part of the broader "hygiene hypothesis." He completed his doctorate with thesis studies in neuroimmunology focused on murine immune responses after a seizure. He performed his residency training at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center at Columbia University in New York City, NY.

His research goals are to better understand the risk factors and medical comorbidities of atopic dermatitis in the US population. Dr Silverberg has authored 141 scientific articles and book chapters, including studies of the epidemiology of atopic dermatitis and "big data" research. He has extensive experience with database development, instrument development and deployment, and statistical programming.

Dr Silverberg is an associate editor for the British Journal of Dermatology and Current Dermatology Reports and is on the editorial board of Cutis. He is a member of the National Eczema Association Scientific Advisory Committee and American Academy of Dermatology Atopic Dermatitis Expert Resource Group, and he is chair of the Society of Investigative Dermatology Atopic Dermatitis Epidemiology Working Group. He is also a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, American Academy of Dermatology, Society of Investigative Dermatology, American Contact Dermatitis Society, Illinois Dermatologic Society, and Chicago Dermatologic Society.

 

Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, the Sol and Clara Kest professor of dermatology, is vice chair for research at the Department of Dermatology, director of the Center for Excellence in Eczema, and the Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York. She earned her medical degree from Sackler in Tel-Aviv, and a doctorate degree from Bar-Ilan, Israel. After her Israeli board certification in dermatology at the Rambam Medical Center at the Technion, Dr Guttman moved to the United States to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University and a second dermatology residency at Weill-Cornell, NY. 

Dr Guttman's major focus is atopic dermatitis (AD) or eczema. She made paradigm-shifting discoveries on the immunologic basis of AD/eczema in humans, enriching the understanding of its pathophysiology and opening the door to new therapeutics. Dr Guttman has developed comprehensive molecular maps of AD, defining skin differentiation and immune-circuits characterizing this disease. She has established the reversibility of the AD phenotype and defined a series of biomarkers that are now accelerating testing of novel pathway-specific drugs for AD. Her research on atopic dermatitis/eczema has contributed directly to the recently developed treatments for this disease, earning her a unique place in dermatology and immunology worldwide. She is now testing (both clinically and mechanistically) multiple targeted therapeutics for atopic dermatitis that target Th2, Th22, and Th17/IL-23 axis. She has recently also extended her research interest to alopecia areata in which her findings are also translated to possible novel therapeutic targets. 

Dr Guttman has co-founded the international eczema council/IEC, for which she functions as president-elect. She was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation/ASCI, the American Dermatological Society/ADA, and received the Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Dermatology, as well as several other awards. She has recently been elected to serve on the board of the American Skin Association. Dr Guttman is considered one of the world's leading experts in inflammatory skin diseases and authored more than 120 articles. She has also been featured as keynote speaker in many international and national meetings. Her achievements have been highlighted by the media including the New York Times, CBS News, Daily News, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, NY1, and others.