Research in the Department of Dermatology
Research in Ohio State’s Department of Dermatology has grown substantially over the past few years, including translational studies and clinical trials. Our scope has expanded to include numerous dermatologic conditions in an effort to offer cutting edge care to patients with the most severe forms of disease.
Clinical trials
The clinical research mission is robust and led by a clinical trials unit that is among the most productive in the nation and highlighted by faculty leadership of major national clinical trials that have been published in New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Dermatology, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and many others over the past several years. Over 34 active clinical trials were conducted in the most recent fiscal year, 22 of which were interventional and spanned over 16 different disease indications. Clinical research is supported by a close partnership with the Ohio State College of Medicine and the Clinical Research Center (CRC) under which three full-time clinical research coordinators, one clinical research assistant and one clinical fellow support the research mission.
We offer actively recruiting clinical trials in multiple diseases with investigators Jessica Kaffenberger, MD; Ben Kaffenberger, MD; Abraham Korman, MD, and/or Brittany Dulmage, MD. New therapeutic options are available for those with
- Acne
- Alopecia
- Hidradenitis
- Lupus
- Pyoderma Gangrenosum
Publicizing Dermatology Research
Our faculty publish in national and international journals with the highest impact factors, but they also recognize an unmet need for non-profit publishers of dermatologic research. To address this, our faculty have begun an open-access, freely viewable and free-to-publish journal with the generous support of the Department of Dermatology and Ohio State University libraries. Our journal is Academic Dermatology and we welcome you to view our most recent edition.
Current Grant Funded Research
David Carr, MD, MPH, and Kathryn Shahwan, MD, received a Dermatology Foundation Research Grant.
Brittany Dulmage, MD, was awarded the Dermatology Foundation, Medical Dermatology Career Development Award, 2022-25. Project title: The Impact, Disparities, and Assessment Methods of Alopecia in Cancer Patients.
Kirsten Johnson, MD, PhD, was awarded the Dermatology Foundation, Patient Directed Investigation Grant Award. Project Title: Investigating intra-tumoral direct cellular therapy in non-melanoma skin cancers.
Kirsten Johnson, MD, PhD, has been awarded the Ohio State University Office of Research the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Path to K Award to fund her clinical trial and translational studies to investigate natural killer cellular therapy in keratinocyte carcinomas.
Ben Kaffenberger, MD
- R01 HL151195-01A. Role of macrophage polarization in multi-organ fibrosis of chronic GVHD
PI: Yang/Huang (Division of Hematology), Role: Co-Investigator
07/01/2020-06/30/2025 - R01 AR083110. Diagnostic and treatment landscape of pyoderma gangrenosum
PI: Ortega Loayza (Oregon Health Sciences University), Role Co-Investigator.
08/01/2023-07/20/2026 - T35 AI179601. Short Term Research in Immunology and Virology Experience: STRIVE-T35
PIs: Kaffenberger, Oestreich, Bumgardner, Role: MPI
5/1/2025-4/30/2030
Healthy State Alliance Collaborative Research Pilot Funding Program. Metatranscriptomics to Develop Disease Classification Biomarkers in Cellulitis. Role: PI. Goals enrolling patients prospectively with nonpurulent cellulitis and performing metatranscriptomics of affected and unaffected adjacent skin.
PI B Kaffenberger. 1/1/2024-12/31/2025
Masaoki Kawasumi, MD, PhD, has been awarded an NCI R01 grant ($2 million) to support his skin cancer research project, Targeting epigenetic abnormalities to inhibit cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Rachel Kirven, MD, was awarded a Spark Award through the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science to study diagnostic delays in adult-onset atopic dermatitis and associated impacts on patient outcomes and healthcare utilization.
Abraham Korman, MD, serving as principal investigator, was awarded a grant to expand the Clinica Latina, a clinic providing care to underserved Hispanic individuals in Columbus, Ohio. The grant expands and supports the purchasing of supplies to treat more individuals and improve the outcomes of uninsured Hispanic patients with dermatological conditions.
Abraham Korman, MD, received the Patient Care Innovation Award grant to utilize his multidisciplinary rheumatology-dermatology clinic to decrease hospital admissions for patients with connective tissue diseases.
Desmond Shipp, MD, MSBS, has been awarded a Patient Care Innovation Award grant to remove tattoos in post-radiation and post-incarcerated patients.
Active Faculty Research Programs
David Carr, MD, MPH, and Kathryn Shahwan, MD, focus their research on cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and other rare cutaneous neoplasms. Their research group examines the outcomes of patients diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer, and they are working to understand tumor and patient factors that affect the behavior of non-melanoma skin cancer.
Catherine Chung, MD, is a dermatologist and dermatopathologist with a focus on cutaneous lymphomas. As part of the multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma clinic at The James, she participates in multiple translational research studies and clinical trials regarding treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. She is currently a Co-Investigator of a research study, "Integrating biomimetic tissue engineering and multi-omics systems analysis to overcome CTCL drug resistance," which was awarded an OSUCCC-Pelotonia Idea Grant.
Brittany Dulmage, MD, studies oncodermatology, managing hair, skin, and nail side effects of cancer therapies. In particular, she studies diagnosis, management and prevention of hair loss in cancer patients and cutaneous adverse reactions to immunotherapy. Her research is funded by the Dermatology Foundation. She is also interested in medical education research.
Miqdad Dhariwala, MSc, PhD, conducts research in the Dhariwala lab that focuses on the mechanisms by which commensal microbes establish a symbiotic relationship with the host in the early life window. The lab team is particularly interested in dissecting how the crosstalk between commensal microbes and myeloid cells in neonatal barrier tissues shapes long-term health. Myeloid cells are the earliest immune populations to seed tissues and despite being the primary sentinels interacting with commensal microbes, little is known about how myeloid cells help establish tissue homeostasis. Their fundamental interest in these questions is because the origin of several chronic inflammatory conditions can be traced back to immune-microbiome dysregulations in the early life window. With core expertise in human and murine tissue immunology, microbiome sciences and novel translational tools, the Dhariwala lab aims to translate their fundamental research findings to next generation therapeutic interventions against chronic inflammatory disease.
Ben Kaffenberger, MD, is focused on three areas: 1) cutaneous drug eruptions, 2) wound inflammation and healing and 3) differentiating cutaneous infectious diseases from sterile inflammation in diseases such as cellulitis and hidradenitis suppurativa. Dr. Kaffenberger’s research has been funded by the Dermatology Foundation, American Acne and Rosacea Society, the National Psoriasis Foundation and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) among other funders. He serves as the Vice-Chair of Research for the department and also leads the Ohio State College of Medicine Medical Student Research Program (MDSR Program) and is a Co-PI of the Short-Term Research in Immunology and Virology Experience (STRIVE-T35) experience for Ohio State College of Medicine medical students. His current focus is on developing and validating diagnostic, outcomes and quality-of-life measures to catalyze therapeutic development in severe dermatologic diseases such as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (SJS/TEN), Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS), pyoderma gangrenosum, cellulitis and hidradenitis suppurativa.
Jessica Kaffenberger, MD, has areas of interest including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata and other complex conditions in need of alternative treatment options for refractory disease. She is an active participant in numerous clinical trials and registries to observe the long-term safety and efficacy of currently approved medications. She is interested in research that bridges the gender gap in dermatology.
Masaoki Kawasumi, MD, PhD, is an NIH-funded investigator specializing in skin cancer research. The Kawasumi Lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of UV-induced DNA damage responses and skin carcinogenesis to improve the prevention and treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) and melanoma. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the most prevalent carcinogen in humans, responsible for over 5 million skin cancer cases annually in the United States. UV exposure induces both genetic mutations and epigenetic abnormalities that affect the expression of cancer-relevant genes, but how these epigenetic changes contribute to skin malignancies remains unclear. Using genome and epigenome editing tools, the Kawasumi Lab aims to elucidate the role of epigenetic abnormalities in malignant transformation, with the goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies to target epigenetic aberrations and inhibit cSCC (funded by the National Cancer Institute).
Rachel Kirven, MD, has research interests including atopic dermatitis, patch testing and inpatient dermatology. She is leading studies focused on the impact of diagnostic patterns in adult-onset atopic dermatitis on healthcare utilization, improving post-discharge follow-up after hospitalization for skin disease, enhancing early recognition and differentiation of severe cutaneous adverse reactions and evaluating diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making in cases of suspected cellulitis in hospitalized patients.
Abraham Korman, MD, has developed and validated diagnostic tools for Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS), including a novel scoring system and the integration of augmented intelligence (AI) for both image and histopathological analysis. His research identified key clinical markers such as the oblique earlobe crease and highlighted racial disparities in DRESS outcomes. Dr. Korman has published over 36 manuscripts in prominent journals, including the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and JAMA Dermatology. In addition to his research contributions, he mentors numerous medical students and residents on a range of projects, many of whom have earned competitive research scholarships and presented their work at national and international conferences. He has also secured multiple research grants in roles as both Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator, encompassing industry-sponsored clinical trials and institutional funding.
Desmond Shipp, MD, MSBS, is the Director of Cosmetic Dermatology for the Department of Dermatology. His current research focuses on understanding why skin-of-color patients are less likely to receive cosmetic dermatological procedures.
Kelly Tyler, MD, is also board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and has a special interest in vulvovaginal disease. She has participated in clinical trials for genital psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and chronic spontaneous urticaria.