Tulane Department of Dermatology EDI Statement:
The Tulane Department of Dermatology ensures that all residents receive a high-quality educational experience. We are committed to training a dermatology workforce that reflects the rich diversity of race, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation found in the unique community culture of New Orleans. We are committed to addressing health inequities in our community and increasing recruitment of underrepresented minorities in medicine and in dermatology.
The Tulane Department of Dermatology is committed to issues of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), health disparities and skin of color in dermatology. Many of our faculty and residents come to Tulane to care for a diverse New Orleans community, that is also in great medical need. Our clinical practice includes some of the most underserved patients, which necessitates that we develop cultural competency, understand social determinants of health and address barriers to care. We have a vibrant practice full of patients who are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation and more and we train a dermatology workforce that is prepared to address the needs of diverse communities.
Our New Orleans clinics at University Medical Center, Tulane Medical Center, VA-New Orleans, and Children’s Hospital-New Orleans treat patients of all walks of life. Our faculty and residents also participate in the Fleur-de-Vie clinic, a free medical clinic to deliver specialty dermatology care for patients in East New Orleans. The Department recently launched a Diversity Committee to address topics related to increase our EDI initiatives, understanding that we have opportunities for improvement in creating more educational opportunities about EDI, addressing health disparities in our specialty and promoting the recruitment and retention of individuals underrepresented in the dermatology workforce. Our efforts are in conjunction with the Tulane Office of Graduate Medical Education https://medicine.tulane.edu/education/graduate-medical-education/acgme-update
We also promote research in skin of color in dermatology. Many of our faculty, residents, and medical students focus on research that specifically affects our patients of color. We have included a brief list below:
Original articles
-Authors visited African American hairstylists in New Orleans to present a focused educational intervention on types of scarring alopecias and how early physician intervention can help patients.
-Authors performed a qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses about the experience of UIM candidates during the dermatology application process.
-Authors presented data on the relative differences between medical students’ ability to diagnose similar skin conditions in lighter and darker background skin colors.
McKay C, Kuraitis D, Murina A. Serum cytokine levels in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa vary with race. J Am Acad Dermatol. In press
- In this study the authors studied cytokine level differences in African American patients with hidradenitis suppurativa
-Authors performed a case-control study comparing the risk factors of dissecting cellulitis of the scalp to keloids. They found that smoking appears to be a risk factor for dissecting cellulitis of the scalp.
Hamel R, Mohammad TF, Chahine A, Joselow A, Vick G, Radosta S, Boh E, Alora-Palli M, Mistur RL, Baron ED, Cooper KD, Lim HW. Comparison of racial distribution of photodermatoses in USA academic dermatology clinics: A multicenter retrospective analysis of 1080 patients over a 10-year period. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2020;36(3):233-240.
- This study evaluated the differences in the frequency of photodermatoses between Whites and Blacks; specifically, polymorphous light eruption was found to be more common in Blacks
Chao LX, Patterson SSL, Rademaker AW, Liu D, Kundu RV. Melanoma Perception in People of Color: A Targeted Educational Intervention. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2017;18(3):419-427
- Study examined effectiveness of melanoma educational intervention towards African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics.
Case Reports in Skin of Color
Chen L, Owens K, Murina A. Anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis presenting as unilateral eyelid edema. JAAD Case Rep. 2020;6(9):909-911.
- This authors highlight a case of an African American patient who presents with an erythematous eyelid related to anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis
-Authors describe a rapidly growing squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with long-standing discoid lupus erythematosus
-Authors describe a fixed drug eruption to mycophenolate in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus
-Authors describe an African-American man with pityriasis rosea-like eruption
Claiborne WC, Morgan AE, Murina AT. Diffuse Progressive Proliferation of Dark Papules in an Otherwise Healthy African American Woman. JAMA Dermatol. 2016 Nov;152 (11):1273-1274.
-Authors describe a woman with multiple atypical spitz nevi
Murina, A. and Ellis, D. Binder Clips in the Treatment of Auricular Keloids. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2014 Dec ;71 (6).
-Authors describe a novel method to provide pressure for earlobe keloids
Velluci A, Manolas M, Jin S, Dwyer J, Vick G, Wang A, Swiatlo E, Zheng C. Orf virus infection after Eid al-Adha. IDCases. 2020;21:e00854.
- This case report, the authors highlight a case of Orf virus infection that caused a Moroccan man to develop painful, erythematous, violaceous plaques on his hands
Watson IT, Murzaku E. Cutaneous coccidiomycosis presenting with a facial plaque. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2019;32(1):88-89
- Authors presented a case of a cutaneous plaque on the upper lip of a black man due to a coccidiomycosis infection
Watson IT, Patel RC, Jahan-Tigh RR. Extensive, Multifocal Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Presenting with Varied Morphologies in an Immunosuppressed Patient. Am J Trop Med Hyg.
-Authors presented a case of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a Pakistani patient who presented with plaques scattered on the face, chest, and forearms
Reviews
-Authors review the evidence-based literature for the treatments of dissecting cellulitis of the scalp
Patel NU, Roach C, Alinia H, Huang WW, Feldman SR. Current treatment options for acanthosis nigricans. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2018;11:407-413.
- Authors reviewed current treatments for acanthosis nigricans, a cutaneous condition that affects high risk populations comprised of African-Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans
