Visiting Professor Lecture: "Psoriatic Arthritis for the Dermatologist in 2025"

Joseph F. Merola, MD, MMSc, is the Mary Kay Inc. Distinguished Chair in Dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center; professor of dermatology; professor of medicine and rheumatology; and professor at the Peter O'Donnell Jr. School of Public Health. Merola is board-certified in dermatology, internal medicine, and rheumatology.

Merola earned his medical degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine, and his masters of medical sciences degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internship in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a residency in dermatology at New York University Langone Health, where he was chief resident. He continued with a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Before assuming his position as Chair in 2023, Merola was a vice chair and associate professor in the Department of Dermatology and Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He served as the vice chair for clinical trials and innovation; founding director of the Clinical unit for Research Innovation and Trials (CUReIT); director of the Center for Skin and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases; and the associate program director for the Harvard Combined Internal Medicine-Dermatology Residency Training Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Merola was named one of Boston's Top Doctors every year for nearly a decade. He is an international expert in inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, namely psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis, and connective tissue disease, including lupus and dermatomyositis.

He has held many leadership positions within national and international organizations:

• Elected to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology
• Founding president of the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network Consortium (PPACMAN)
• Member of the Scientific and Medical Boards of the National Psoriasis Foundation
• Member of the Board of the International Dermatology Outcome Measure Group
• President-elect of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA)
• Member of the Board of the American Skin Association
• Member of the Medical and Scientific Board of the Lupus Foundation of America
• President-elect of the Rheumatology-Dermatology Society
• Councilor for the International Eczema Council and the International Psoriasis Council
• He has served on multiple committees, including the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Guidelines Committee.
  
• Past president of the Medical Dermatology Society

Merola has published more than 340 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous awards, including: the NFP's Outstanding Educator Award; the Winter Clinical Educator of the Year Award; the Brigham and Women's Hospital Distinguished Clinician Award; the Mass General Brigham Pillar Award in Research Leadership; and many other research, mentorship, and leadership awards. He was honored in 2024 at the National Psoriasis Foundation's Commit to a Cure Gala in Dallas, Texas.