Board of Directors

Dr. Leonardi is Adjunct Professor of Dermatology at St. Louis University Medical School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he also has a private practice. He received his medical degree from the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida and completed an internship in pediatrics and residency in dermatology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Leonardi is certified by the American Board of Dermatology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and member of the American Dermatological Association. He is a co-founder and president of the International Psoriasis Council. He is a member of the National Psoriasis Foundation’s medical advisory board.

Dr. Leonardi has extensive experience using the new biologics in the treatment of psoriasis. He has been an invited speaker at national, regional, and state venues and serves on the advisory boards of several pharmaceutical companies. He has been involved in more than 200 clinical trials and has published more than 250 original articles and abstracts in such journals as the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the British Journal of Dermatology, the Archives of Dermatology, the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Lancet. He is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology Psoriasis Guidelines committee.

Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022

Professor Bachelez is professor at the Department of Dermatology of the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris Saint-Louis University Hospital in Paris, France. Since 2004, Professor Bachelez has been full professor of clinical dermatology at the Université Paris-Diderot/Université de Paris, where he received his Ph.D. in Immunology in 1999. Professor Bachelez’s clinical and research activities focus on inflammatory skin diseases, mainly psoriasis and psoriasis-related diseases, but also hidradenitis suppurativa, lichen planus among others. He is conducting his basic and translational research at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM U1163), in the Laboratory of Genetics of Skin Diseases at the Imagine Institute for Human Genetic Diseases in Necker Hospital, Paris. His areas of scientific research include immunogenetics and molecular mechanisms of the aforementioned immune-mediated and inflammatory skin diseases. Professor Bachelez has received several scientific awards, including the Robert Degos award. He is a member of several national and international scientific societies, including the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and the European Dermatology Forum (EDF). He is the past president of the French society for Dermatological Research and of the Group for Research on Psoriasis of the French Society for Dermatology. Internationally, he is a board member of the International Psoriasis Council and is currently serving as President of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR). Professor Bachelez has published more than 270 manuscripts in peer-reviews journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Lancet, and Arthritis and Rheumatism as leading author.

Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022

Claudia De la Cruz, MD, is a dermatologist in Santiago, Chile. She earned her degree at Universidad De Chile and was an Assistant Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile between 2005 and 2013. Dr. de la Cruz is the Founder and Director of Clínica Dermacross since 2010 in Santiago. She has served on the Board of Directors of the International Psoriasis Council since 2017 and is a regional coordinator for Latin America for the Global Psoriasis Atlas project. Her focus has been in working for psoriasis in her country through the Chilean Society of Dermatology, at the beginning of her career, and then for Latin America, where she has lead the IPC Latin American working group together with Ricardo Romiti from Brazil.She is International Scientific Advisory Board member for Pso Protect. In her role as regional coordinator for Latin America for the Global Psoriasis Atlas, she has focused on collecting information on the incidence of psoriasis in Latin America, helping to build a net of experts through the region. She has helped raise awareness and improve access to treatment in the region, evaluating the different barriers to access in Latin America and other underserved areas in the world. She has also worked in education at the IPC, first on the International Fellowship program, that helps train new leaders in the psoriasis field, and currently as chair of the Masterclass Steering Committee.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Dr. Strober earned both his medical degree and his doctorate from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, New York. He completed his residency in dermatology in the Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine in New York, New York. He is board certified by the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow in the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dr. Strober’s research interests include the study of therapeutics, both old and new, for inflammatory skin disease, specifically interventions that help patients with difficult-to-treat psoriasis, alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. He has served as principal investigator or sub-investigator for numerous multicenter clinical studies.

Dr. Strober was the Chair of the University of Connecticut Department of Dermatology from 2015-18. He has served as a Section Editor for the British Journal of Dermatology and is an ad hoc reviewer for Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, JAMA Dermatology, British Journal of Dermatology, and Inflammation. He has published more than 160 book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA Dermatology, the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Christy brings over 25 years of non-profit management experience in the areas of program development, event management, public relations, marketing and communications, and fundraising. She has served in senior leadership positions with two national non-profit organizations and served as the Executive Director of a local non-profit. Prior to joining IPC, she served in various capacities with the National Psoriasis Foundation including Sr. Director of Education and Outreach where she was responsible for developing and managing education programs for patients and medical professionals, and as Director of Corporate Relations where she raised support for the organization and worked closely with industry to develop outreach programs. Christy joined the International Psoriasis Council in 2009 as a project manager and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2016. She brings to IPC a diverse set of skills, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a passion for improving the lives of those living with psoriasis. She earned her Bachelor's in Business Administration from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, and currently resides in Santa Rosa, California.

Last Updated: Mar 09, 2022

Jonathan Barker, MD, is Professor of Medical Dermatology at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, King’s College London and honorary consultant dermatologist at Guy’s and St. Thomas’s Hospitals specializing in complex hospital based medical dermatology. Professor Barker is the immediate past President of International Psoriasis Council having previously been a board member and chair of the scientific committee. He is a principal investigator in national and international consortia using genetic and multi-omic approaches to discover causal disease mechanisms, new drug targets and biomarkers of disease subtypes and outcomes to therapeutic interventions. These are being applied to important chronic skin diseases such as psoriasis, acne and eczema. Professor Barker has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, authored and edited several books including the latest (10th) edition of Rook’s Textbook of Dermatology. Highly cited publications include those in the Lancet, Nature Genetics and New England Journal of Medicine. Professor Barker was head of department at the Institute of Dermatology 2002-2018 and course director of the Institute’s MSc Clinical Dermatology for overseas graduates. He is a past President of the European Dermatology Forum and the European Society for Dermatological Research. He is an honorary overseas member of several national dermatological associations including Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, and the USA.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Dr. Blauvelt is President of Oregon Medical Research Center, a small business dedicated to performing high quality clinical research studies in dermatology. He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at Purdue University, his medical degree at Michigan State University, and a healthcare MBA at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Dr. Blauvelt trained in dermatology at the University of Miami and in cellular immunology under the direction of Steve Katz at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Earlier in his career, he held senior staff positions at the NIH (Senior Investigator), OHSU (Professor), and the Portland VA Medical Center (Chief). Dr. Blauvelt's research and clinical expertise has been in Langerhans cell biology, T cell immunology, virology, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis. He has published over 300 papers and spoken across the country and world on these topics. Within psoriasis research, his laboratory published key papers on the role of IL-23/Th17 biology in psoriasis; in recent years, he has been the international lead investigator on a number of important clinical trials, including PSTELLAR, FEATURE, IXORA-R, VOYAGE 1, IMMhance, CHRONOS, ECZTEND, JADE REGIMEN, and HEADS UP. Dr. Blauvelt is also an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the International Psoriasis Council, the International Eczema Council, and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Psoriasis Foundation. In 2021, he made the list of Highly Cited Researchers, representing the top 1% of cited scientists in the world.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Dr. Choon Siew Eng is a senior consultant dermatologist at Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru, Malaysia and Associate Professor, Clinical School Johor Bahru, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Monash University, Malaysia. She received her medical degree from the University of Malaya. She subsequently undertook postgraduate training in general medicine and obtained membership of the Royal College of Physicians (London, UK)and was elected a fellow in 2003. She was awarded a public service scholarship to pursue dermatology training and subsequently a fellowship to train in dermatopathology in St. John’s Institute of Dermatology, London, UK. Dr. Choon is a foundation member of Asian Academy of Dermatology and Venereology and an active member of the Malaysian Society of Dermatology as well as a member of the Malaysian Medical Association. Her research interests include chronic inflammatory skin diseases namely atopic dermatitis, psoriasis particularly pustular psoriasis, hidradenitis suppurativa and cutaneous adverse drug reactions. She is a member of International Psoriasis Council and an advisor of the Psoriasis Association of Johor.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Prof. El-Sayed is Professor of Dermatology and Venereology at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. She qualified in medicine in Cairo with honors and subsequently obtained two post-graduate degrees: MSc and MD. Her training has mostly been at her home University but does include a period of research in Glasgow, Scotland for two years. She has served as the administrative director of the department since 2000 and was department head from 2017 to 2018. She has numerous responsibilities including directorship of the dermatology training program. Prof. El-Sayed is the Head of the Egyptian Board of Dermatology and involved in the ministry of health combined committee for Biologic therapy for psoriasis patients together with her fellow rheumatologist. She has lectured widely at international meetings. She is a member of multiple national and international dermatology societies and has organized many congresses. She is very committed to improving the outcomes for patients with psoriasis in Egypt and has on numerous occasions lobbied the government to improve access to healthcare and medicine.

Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022

Joel M. Gelfand MD MSCE is a James J. Leyden Professor of Dermatology and Epidemiology (with tenure) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. He is also Vice Chair of Clinical Research, Medical Director of the Dermatology Clinical Studies Unit, and Director of the Psoriasis and Phototherapy Treatment Center. He is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in psoriasis, clinical epidemiology, drug safety, and clinical trials. Dr. Gelfand is the author of over 260 scientific publications, editorials, reviews, and textbook chapters (cited over 18,000 times, H index 60) which appear in journals such as JAMA, BMJ, European Heart Journal, Annals of Rheumatic Disease, JAMA Dermatology, JAAD, and the JID. He is the recipient of the American Skin Association’s Psoriasis Achievement Award, PENN’s New Investigator Marjorie Bowman Award and the Lady Barbara Colyton’s Award for Autoimmune research, Penn’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology’s epidemiology teaching award, NPF’s inaugural award for scientific achievement, and is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He has given over 10 named lectureships and keynote addresses including the Society for Investigative Dermatology’s Eugene M. Farber lecture and the American Academy of Dermatology’s Marion B. Sulzberger lecture. He has received grant support from NIH, FDA, PCORI, the Dermatology Foundation, the American Skin Association, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and numerous pharmaceutical companies to support his independent research program. The overarching goal of his research and clinical practice is to improve psoriasis patient outcomes in the skin and joints, while lowering the risk of diabetes, CV disease and mortality.

Last Updated: Jan 31, 2022

Dr. Johann Gudjonsson, MD, PhD is the Arthur C. Curtis Professor of Skin Molecular Immunology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Gudjonsson graduated from the University of Iceland Medical School and completed his internship and dermatology residency training at the University of Michigan. In 2008, Dr. Gudjonsson joined the faculty of the University of Michigan Department of Dermatology. Dr. Gudjonsson sees general dermatology patients at the University of Michigan Taubman Center. Dr. Gudjonsson came to the U-M in 2003 as part of an innovative research residency training program. Dr. Gudjonsson's primary research focus is basic immunological and genetic research on psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases of the skin, with projects directed at improving the diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis. Dr. Gudjonsson is the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Emerging Scholar of the Taubman Medical Research Institute. He received the Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Dermatology in 2007 and his work has earned several research awards, including from the American Skin Association, the Dermatology Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation and the NIH. He is a director of an NIH sponsored Skin Biology Research Center at Michigan, and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) and serves on the Board of Scientific Counselors to NIAMS.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Professor Iversen, an IPC councilor since 2009, and since 2017 board member of the IPC. He is professor in dermatology at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, where he also teaches dermato-venereology. He received his clinical education and obtained a doctoral degree from the same university. Professor Iversen's main research interests are psoriasis and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Most of his research activities are related to signal transduction and immunology. Professor Iversen has served as a guest researcher and has been a speaker at international conferences in Asia, Europe and the United States. He is the author or co-author of 240 articles and book chapters and the holder of two patents. He has served as a section editor for Acta Dermato-Venereologica and on the editorial board of Experimental Dermatology. His writings have appeared in several scientific journals including Nature Immunology, Nature Communications, PNAS, EMBO Journal and Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In 2019 professor Iversen was the founder of the National Center for Autoimmune Diseases at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. He served as president of the Danish Dermatological Society and a is previous board member of the Nordic Dermatological Association. Furthermore, he a member of ESDR, EADV and AAD.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Luis Puig is Director of the Department of Dermatology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (HSCSP) and Professor of Dermatology at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) Medical School, Barcelona, Spain.

In the last 20 years Dr Puig has focused on clinical research in the treatment of psoriasis with biological agents, an area in which he is a key opinion leader both nationally and internationally, having taught at numerous national and international conferences, workshops, and seminars. The results of his research have been published in numerous articles (h-index = 59; i10 index = 310) and book chapters. He has participated in numerous clinical trials on psoriasis, in most cases acting as principal investigator.

Dr Puig is member of the Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, founding member of several of its working groups, and past coordinator of the Spanish Psoriasis Group. He is also an aggregate member of the Spanish Society of Rheumatology and its GEAPSO Group for Research in Psoriatic Arthritis, and of several international societies, including the EADV, AAD, CILAD, ESDR, ASDP, ISDP, and GRAPPA.

He is or has been Board Member of the EADV (2013-2019), Co-chair of the Psoriasis Task Force of the EADV (2018-), scientific advisor to the Psoriasis International Network, President of the Psoriasis International Network and the Foundation René Touraine Scientific Board Executive Committee (2016-2020), Vice president of the Administration Council of the Foundation René Touraine (2018-2020), Member of the European Dermatology Forum (2017-), Councilor of the International Psoriasis Council (2012-), Board Member of the International Psoriasis Council (2018-), and Member of the GRAPPA Education Committee and Steering Committee (2020-2023).

Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022

Ricardo Romiti, MD, Ph.D., is responsible for the Psoriasis unit at the Department of Dermatology of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and works as a Clinical Professor of Dermatology also at the University of São Paulo. Having gained his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, where he also completed his residency in the Department of Dermatology.

Professor Romiti is currently a Board member of the International Psoriasis Council, a member of GRAPPA and the Latin American Society of Psoriasis (SOLAPSO), and Editor of the Brazilian Consensus of Psoriasis of the Brazilian Society of Dermatology. Besides, he has authored or co-authored numerous papers published in national and international dermatology journals and is the Editor of five books with a focus on psoriasis.

Last Updated: Feb 23, 2022

Catherine is Professor of Dermatology and Therapeutics and Consultant Dermatologist at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Kings College London and Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital.  She co-directs the Skin Therapy Research Unit, and is also a lead clinician in national specialised services for adults with severe psoriasis. Her clinical and research interests focus on inflammatory skin disease and translational medicine, extending from biomarker discovery through to interventional studies (phase II-IV), and involve major national and international collaboration.  She also has a major interest in guideline development and implementation in the UK and Europe, with the aim of bringing research findings into clinical practice.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Chris Griffiths qualified in Medicine from St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, London and trained in Dermatology at St Mary’s Hospital, London and the University of Michigan, USA. He was appointed to the Foundation Chair in Dermatology at the University of Manchester in 1994. Chris founded the Manchester Dermatopharmacology Unit and the Manchester Psoriasis Service in 1994. In 2015 he received the Sir Archibald Gray Medal, for outstanding service to British Dermatology, and in 2019 the British Society for Investigative Dermatology Medal for contributions to research. In 2018 Chris was awarded Pro Meritis of the European Dermatology Forum (EDF) and was appointed OBE, for services to dermatology, in the Queen’s New Year Honours. He is an NIHR Emeritus Senior Investigator and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

Professor Griffiths is a previous President of the European Society for Dermatological Research, British Association of Dermatologists (BAD), and the International Psoriasis Council which he co-founded in 2004. Chris is: Director of the MRC stratified medicine consortium on psoriasis (Psoriasis Stratification to Optimise Relevant Therapy; PSORT); Director of the Global Psoriasis Atlas; and Chief Investigator of the BAD Biologics and Immunomodulators Register. He has 743 Pubmed cited articles (h-index 135), and is Editor-in-Chief of Rook’s Textbook of Dermatology. Chris has a career-long interest in all aspects of psoriasis and is credited with helping to develop the concept that psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease.
He runs international courses on art appreciation for clinicians and is active in global health initiatives including co-founding the Burma Skincare Initiative charity and advisor to the ILDS on global health research and policy.

Last Updated: Jan 26, 2022

Dr Alan Menter was born in England and is a graduate of the Medical School of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. He completed his dermatology residency at Pretoria General Hospital at the University of Pretoria, also in South Africa, and two fellowships in London at Guy's Hospital and St. John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin.

In August 2004, Dr Menter helped found the International Psoriasis Council to raise international awareness of psoriasis as a serious autoimmune disease that can significantly impact quality of life.

Along with Professor Anne Bowcock, they discovered the 1st gene for Psoriasis, published in the journal “Science” in 1994. Dr Menter held the position of clinical director of the National Psoriasis Foundation Gene Bank from 1996 to 2002.

He was chairman of the Division of Dermatology at Baylor University Medical Center between 1992 and 2021. He is involved in multiple clinical, investigative and drug research studies, predominantly those relating to psoriasis. Dr Menter has published 435+ articles in major Dermatology and Medical Journals, in addition to 6 books and 21 chapters.

Last Updated: Feb 01, 2022