Harvard Dermatology Spring 2018 Alumni Newsletter

Harvard Dermatology

Alumni News News for graduates and friends of the Harvard Combined Dermatology Program | Spring 2018

Inside: Alumni Spotlight - Page 2 | Resident Updates - Page 3 | Blast from the Past - Page 4

Harvard dermatology residents with Dr. Suzanne Olbricht (Class of 1983) at the annual Women’s Dermatologic Society Luncheon at the 2018 AAD in San Diego.

Alumni and residents socialize at the Harvard House Officers Reception at the 2018 AAD in San Diego.

Alum Spotlight:

Can you share some memories of your time at the Harvard training program and tell us about any people that were instrumental in your growth? The training program was vastly different in 1980 than it is now. We had an inpatient service of about 8 beds at the MGH where we admitted patients and managed their disease. Most patients had widespread psoriasis or bullous disease but we also took care of their congestive heart failure, diabetes, and kidney disease.

Tuesday morning grand rounds was a grand affair in the basement of the Warren building. Everyone came, including many dermatologists from the community. Dr. Fitzpatrick and Dr. Baden often led the rounds and there were many arguments about diagnosis and treatment. Thursday afternoon walk rounds were my favorite: we went from hospital to hospital in the Longwood area seeing inpatient consultations and then met in an old nursing building to discuss them over chips and beer with Dr. Arndt, Dr. Stern, Dr. Haynes, and Dr. Rhodes. Clinics with Dr. Gonzalez and Dr. Momtaz were great ambulatory experiences; both were excellent medical dermatologists with broad differential diagnoses and practical treatment plans. Many clinics were led by volunteer dermatologists from the community and I valued my time with Dr. Hadley, Dr. Pugliese, and Dr. Liteplo from Concord. I spent about half my residency in Friday morning PLC and was always grateful for that experience. My class was six residents and we stimulated each other. I was especially close to Wright Caughman and Rhonda Rand. It was the first year there had been two women residents in the same class.

During my residency, there was no Mohs surgery in Boston. We sent a patient with a large recurrent skin cancer maybe twice a year to Dr. Perry Robbins in New York.

Dr. Suzanne Olbricht

What has been your career path since completing your Harvard dermatology residency? My first position was at Harvard Community Health Plan (now Harvard Vanguard) but I was also part time faculty at the BWH for one afternoon and at the BI for one morning. Since I had been an ER doctor for many years in between my internal medicine residency and while moonlighting during dermatology residency, I felt comfortable with procedures and my BI clinic with the residents focused on excisions. Dr. Haynes was the only dermatologist at the BWH which Dr. Braunwald the head of medicine thought was untenable and so within a year I was offered a job at the BWH. Not wanting to put all my eggs in one basket, I negotiated a half time position at the BWH and half time at BIDMC with Dr. Arndt and Dr. Stern. Both jobs ended up being 2/3 positions! I saw outpatients in 4 different offices and inpatients 6 months a year. Though I loved it, when I had a baby I resigned from the BWH and worked only the BI portion. At that time Dr. Fewkes was doing Mohs at the MGH and Drs. Arndt/Stern were looking for a Mohs surgeon for the BI. Despite looking for a year, they couldn’t find one and so it was suggested by Dr. Fewkes that she train me and I would return to the BI. She applied for a fellowship, I had another baby, and then I entered fellowship training for which I have always been grateful to Dr. Fewkes. I was a general dermatologist for 7 years before my Mohs training. When I completed the training, I returned to the BI and set up the Mohs unit. We had two rooms and a “bathroom” laboratory for the first 6 months, but I got busier and busier. When we moved into Shapiro, the Mohs unit really took off. I had 7 years at the BI as a Mohs surgeon, then was recruited to Lahey Clinic as chair for 19 years, and now I am back at the BIDMC as Chief. It’s been a whirlwind!

What factors helped you end up where you are today? When I was chief resident, I was asked by a Maine dermatologist to help find someone to go to Presque Isle, Maine on an intermittent basis to fill an access need. I thought that sounded interesting, and jumped at the chance. Presque Isle is 450 miles north, almost to Canada and the nearest dermatologist was 150 miles away. I flew up Thursday evening after walk rounds once to twice a month with my youngest children, worked at seeing as many patients as possible for two very long days, and hiked a small mountain on Sundays waiting for the return flight. I did this for 8 years, learning to manage difficult dermatology issues in situations without many resources, organize the primary care doctors to take care of basic issues and follow my plans, and organize a clinic, including growing it by recruiting other Boston dermatologists. I was able to take some residents with me including Dr. Lerner, Dr. Lynn Baden, and Dr. Taylor. I believe this experience was seminal in teaching me about being a physician, stretching my knowledge of dermatology, engaging in lifelong learning, organizing others, and organizing my own time Tell us more about your leadership, research and academic pursuits. Boston Dermatology Club is where I first became involved in professional associations. My job as secretary involved setting up dinner meetings including the speaker, snail mail invitations and snail mail RSVPs. The education and the networking with other dermatologists made my effort at organizing the meetings worthwhile. I have since participated in leadership in NEDS, Atlantic Derm Conference, ASDS, WDS, ACMS, ITSCC, and now the AAD. I find it wonderfully stimulating to interact with my fellow dermatologists trying to solve problems and steer a course to advance dermatology in the future. And my best friends are people I have met in these organizations. While I appreciate the responsibility of being the president of the AAD this year, my favorite position was the Secretary-Treasurer position where I was very involved in the nitty-gritty of the operations of the AAD. After the presidency? I want to morph a bit and focus more tightly on some clinical research problems I’ve thought about over the years.

Tell us more about your family and personal interests! I admit to be very imbalanced. In fact, I have never strived for balance. Instead I wake up every morning trying to do the best I can with the job at hand for that day. I enjoy work when I am at work and always enjoy being home and with family. Best of both worlds! My four kids and my husband sustain me and I work hard to be present for them. My oldest is the state epidemiologist of Wyoming, my second is an ACLU lawyer in Manhattan, the third is a professional musician here and around the world (I went to Switzerland to see him open the Willisau jazz festival and to Rhodes to see him play in the castle) and my youngest is a dance/performance artist in San Francisco (I manage to see her performances regularly too!). My husband Kevin Fickenscher is a family physician who consults about virtual health care and is often able to travel with me on AAD business. I appreciate his support as First Man of Skin this year and his help with my elderly parents who now live near us. Our home is in Kittery, Maine where we’d like to be more often but we have an apartment in Boston. Weeding is a very meditative practice and in the future I plan to have exquisite gardens!

TBF Fund Updates Avery LaChance (PGY4), “I spent 4 weeks at the Royal Free Hospital in London, UK completing a clinical rotation with a focus on connective tissue disease and health policy.

While there I worked closely with Dr. Cate Orteu, one of the UK's leading rheum-derm experts, as well as the scleroderma research team within the Royal Free's department of rheumatology. The focus of the rotation was to learn about different approaches to work up and management for patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) and to compare and contrast care delivery modes between the US and UK. Next year I will be joining the BWH Department of Dermatology with a clinical focus on connective tissue disease and an academic/research focus on health policy. This rotation was incredibly helpful to allow me to broaden my understanding of both different approaches to patients with CTD as well as different modes and models of care delivery. I am very appreciative of the TBF fund, Dr. Cate Orteu, and Dr. Ruth Ann Vleugels for facilitating such a unique and incredible learning experience during my training! “

Daniel Butler (PGY-4), “I split my time during the elective exploring two interests. Part of my time was spent working with Geriatricians at a variety of clinical settings with goals of evaluating and building inroads to meet needs of older patients. My other time was spent at Allergan Pharmaceuticals.

Through the MGH backed “Advancing Innovation in Dermatology” Organization, this unique experience allowed me to explore the world of medication development and discovery. The TBF fund is a distinctive and treasured element of our program, and I’m so grateful it allowed me incredibly unique experiences.”

Elizabeth Wallace (PGY-4), “This past February, I completed a 4-week research elective focusing on atopic dermatitis with Dr. Emma Guttman at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, NY. In Dr. Guttman’s Eczema Center of Excellence (CoE), I encountered numerous patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who were successfully treated with dupilumab, and learned more about the use of this medication as well as key strategies for the management of atopic dermatitis. Her CoE additionally offers patch testing, hosts a robust clinical trials unit, and conducts translational research in inflammatory dermatoses with a bedside-to-bench and back approach. With this experience, I am excited to establish a specialty clinic for the care of atopic dermatitis patients at my future practice at the University of Colorado. I truly appreciate the generosity of those who made this elective possible through the TBF fund!”

These electives were supported by the Thomas B. Fitzpatrick Education Fund.

Thank you to our alumni donors who make the Thomas B. Fitzpatrick fund possible!

Magic Wand Initiative Priyanka Vedak (PGY-3) and Neera Nathan (PGY-2) were recently accepted to the Advancing Innovation in Dermatology 2018 Scholars Class. This program is designed to train, inspire and connect the next generation of dermatology innovators. These scholars participate in the Virtual Magic Wand Program, an offshoot of the Magic Wand Initiative developed at MGH that empowers residents and faculty participants to engage in research that solves problems faced in their clinical practice. Dr. Adam Raff ('16) and Dr. Lilit Garibyan ('13) are members of the program committee that oversees and mentors these scholars.

Resident Graduates 2018 - Where Are They Going?

Daniel Bach Omar Badri Daniel Butler Avery LaChance Sarah Robinson Lauren Strazzula Ryan Trowbridge Elizabeth Wallace Chao Yang

University of California, Los Angeles University of Massachusetts, Mohs Surgery Fellowship University of California, San Francisco Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston Children’s Hospital, Pediatric Dermatology Fellowship South Shore Skin Center (Norwell & Plymouth, MA) University of Nebraska University of Colorado Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Blast from the Past!

Baby Announcements Alex Charrow and Tom Laakso welcome

Lauren Strazzula and Dan Carr welcome

Yona Marigold Laakso

Charlotte Joyce Carr

Evelyn Lilly and Joseph Scarry welcome

Abigail and Louis Waldman welcome

Clementine Lilly Scarry

Anne Hart Waldman

Stay connected with Harvard Alumni and receive residency program updates through Facebook as part of the Harvard Alumni Dermatology Group!

Link: http://goo.gl/EoCmo4

Become an Alumni Donor!

The generosity of our alumni is essential to fostering an environment of leadership and scholarly excellence for which our program is known. Your contributions will support the following programs and initiatives for Harvard Dermatology residents: - Clinical and Translational Research: resident research projects have ranged from the examination of quality-of-life in patients with PRP, to studying malpractice surrounding dermatologic procedures, to molecular investigations into CD30+ cutaneous lymphomas.

- Technology: technology innovations for medical education and clinical care can be used to enhance training experiences; resident projects to date include development of patient-education videos and developing clinical dermatology education smartphone apps.

- Community Service: resident involvement in the community ranges from participation in clinics for the underserved in Boston, to skin cancer screenings, to laser tattoo removal on former gang members, and to moderating public access television programs.

- Global Health: residents have traveled to India, Vietnam, Botswana, and Kenya to deliver dermatologic care around the world and implement lasting change.

Contributions can be made at: https://secure.massgeneral.org/dermatology-resident For contributions of $25,000 or more, please contact Dr. Jennifer Huang (Jennifer.Huang@childrens.harvard.edu) to discuss details of creating a named opportunity.

Contact us Email: info.hmsderm@partners.org | Phone: 617-726-5254 | http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dermatology/ Editors: Liz Wallace, Girish Mohan, Melissa Danesh