ASDS awards 10 research projects focusing on lasers, Mohs surgery

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery announced in a press release that its Cutting Edge Research Grant program has awarded $96,000 to 10 new clinical research projects.

The grant recipients include Jill S. Waibel, MD, of Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, with projects ranging from examining the effectiveness of specific lasers on surgical and traumatic scars to whether certain preoperative methods improve the functional status of patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery for nonmelanoma skin cancer, according to the release.

“These grants play a vital role in allowing ASDS to remain at the forefront of innovation and leadership in dermatologic surgery,” Naomi Lawrence, MD, ASDS president, stated in the release. “The research that the [Cutting Edge Research Grant] program empowers continues to yield findings that make a difference for our specialty.”

The release reported that grant recipients and their research projects include:

Jerry D. Brewer

Jerry D. Brewer, MD, of Mayo Clinical Research, Rochester, Minnesota, who will conduct a phase 2 randomized controlled trial of educational modification sessions and sunless tanner to reduce the incidence of tanning bed in young adults.

Pooja Chitgopeker, MBChB, of University of Iowa Department of Dermatology, on 1550-nm non-ablative laser vs. Ablative 10,600-nm carbon dioxide fractional laser in treating surgical and traumatic scars.

Conroy Chow, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, who will conduct a prospective evaluation of complications in dermatologic surgery associated with hypertension.

Ian A. Maher, MD, of Saint Louis University, who will study body image concerns in patients with head and neck skin cancer.

Emily Newsom, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center/Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, on modernizing the Mohs consultation through instituting a video module for patient counseling.

Bichchau (Michelle) Thi Nguyen, MD, of Tufts Medical Center, Boston, who will study preoperative acetaminophen and carbohydrate loading to reduce pain and improve functional status in patients undergoing Mohs surgery for nonmelanoma skin cancers.

Jill S. Waibel

Jill S. Waibel, MD, of Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, who will conduct research on “repigmentation of hypopigmentation: fractional laser vs. laser assisted delivery of bimatoprost vs. novel epidermal melanocyte harvesting system.”

Douglas Wu, MD, of Cosmetic Laser Dermatology, San Diego, who will study microfocused ultrasound with subsurface monopolar radiofrequency for lifting and tightening the neck.

Ashley Wysong, MD, of University of Southern California, on determining appropriateness of skin cancer treatment in elderly patients by the integration of patient satisfaction, functional status and quality of life.

Yaohui Gloria Xu, MD. PhD, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who will evaluate “cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma debulk specimens prior to Mohs micrographic surgery and its influence on SCC staging.”

Reference: ASDS.net