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Department of Dermatology

History

Over 100 years of caring for Indiana patients and training the next generation of dermatologists

Dermatology began at Indiana University School of Medicine with the appointment of Alembert Brayton, MD, in the early 1900s as the first professor of dermatology and syphilology. At that time, as in most medical schools, dermatology was a section of internal medicine. Brayton was succeeded by a number of dermatologists who taught at the medical school while maintaining private practices in Indianapolis.

The residency program was established at the Marion County General Hospital, which became the Wishard Memorial Hospital and subsequently Eskenazi Health, by John Dalton, MD, who served as chief of dermatology from 1948 to 1960.

In 1963, dermatology became its own department, and Victor Hackney was recruited from Stanford University to be the first chair. The residency program and clinical service at the Marion County General Hospital and the clinical service at Indiana University were merged into the department.

In 1976, Arthur Norins succeeded Hackney as chair. The dermatology residency expanded to six residents, and clinics at Riley Hospital for Children and the Roudebush Veteran's Administration Medical Center were incorporated into the training and service program. This period also saw the expansion of the research effort with the establishment of the Hackney Laboratory for Investigative Dermatopathology. In 1991, Dr. Stephen Wolverton who was chief of dermatology at the VA for many years, published the first edition of his book on drugs for skin diseases.

In 1993, Evan Farmer was recruited from Johns Hopkins University to succeed Arthur Norins as chair. Farmer’s interests included dermatopathology, graft-versus-host disease and clinical dermatology with emphasis on outcome studies. The dedicated melanoma specialty practice was established. Colonel Charles Lewis was recruited from Brooke Army Medical Center to head the dermatology clinics at Wishard (now Eskenazi) in 1994. In 1998, Dr. William Henke became the first physician to be awarded the triple professorship in dermatology, otolaryngology and pathology, and in 1999 Patricia Treadwell, a pediatric dermatologist, became the first African American professor at the IU School of Medicine. The cutaneous skin biology course was started and hosted trainees for over 20 years.

black and white photo of Alembert Brayton

Alembert W. Brayton, MD

1902–1928

Black and white portrait of Victor Hackney

Victor Hackney, MD

1963–1976

black and white portrait of arthur norins

Arthur Norins, MD

1976–1993

Evan Farmer sits at a microscope wearing a lab coat

Evan Farmer, MD

1993–2001

In 2001, Evan Farmer departed IU to become dean and provost at Eastern Virginia Medical School, with Jeff Travers assuming the chair position. During his tenure, three new satellite offices opened and the number of residents was expanded to nine. Research in atopic dermatitis and eczema flourished. Lawrence Mark assumed leadership for Wishard (now Eskenazi) from Charles Lewis.

In 2010, Elliot Androphy left his position as vice chair of research in the Department of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts to become chair of dermatology at IU School of Medicine. An internationally renowned papillomavirus researcher, Dr. Androphy has made pioneering discoveries in HPV and spinal muscular atrophy. He is the co-inventor on the first FDA-approved treatment for this neurodegenerative disease. During his tenure, Dr. Androphy expanded the faculty to over 20 physicians and residency program to 13 trainees. In 2010, the multidisciplinary cutaneous lymphoma center was started. In 2016 the pediatric dermatology fellowship and in 2018 the Mohs fellowship was established. A new 12,000 square foot office at Meridian Crossing in Carmel was opened. Elizabeth Bryant assumed the leadership of the VA from Stephen Wolverton and started a program offering Mohs to veterans at the Indianapolis VA location. In 2020, Dr. Patricia Treadwell was named the chief diversity officer and special advisor to the dean.

In 2023, David Rosmarin became the sixth chair of dermatology at IU School of Medicine. He is internationally known for his pioneering work on the development of the first FDA-approved treatment for repigmenting vitiligo, the first to use dupilumab in bullous pemphigoid, the first to systematically study anti-IL17 biologics in hidradenitis suppurativa, and his other innovative clinical trial work. He is driven to continue the growth and improvement of the rich history at IU, focusing on our tripartite mission of clinical care, education and innovation.

20638-Androphy, Elliot

Elliot J. Androphy, MD

Professor of Dermatology

2010–2023

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63308-Rosmarin, David

David Rosmarin, MD

Chair, Department of Dermatology
Kampen-Norins Scholar

2023–present

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Information courtesy of the Riley Historic Preservation Committee

A special thank you also to the archivists at the Indiana University Library for their help.