Department Chair Dr. David Norris
The Department of Dermatology is a small, very active department strongly committed to teaching, clinical care and research. Dermatology is no longer considered a subspecialty of Internal Medicine, but is a distinct area of science and medicine, addressing the cutaneous aspects of multiple specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, neurology, pathology and geriatrics. Historically, the department of Dermatology has been strong in autoimmunity and inflammatory skin diseases, which constitute a major part of clinical dermatology, research, and teaching. Our clinical programs cover the entire spectrum of dermatology. We are the referral point for complex and difficult patient problems as well as for general dermatology at the University of Colorado Hospital clinics. Our active clinical services are essential to quality consultant care in all patient populations. Since skin cancer is a major problem in Colorado, our emphasis on cutaneous oncology is particularly important to our medical center and the state.
We have developed strong clinical programs in non-melanoma skin cancer, and also participate in a very active collaborative melanoma clinical program.The melanoma clinic is staffed by medical oncologists, dermatologists, surgeons and pathologists, and is truly a multispecialty, multidisciplinary clinic. Dermatology also has a special cutaneous oncology clinic, a high-risk skin cancer clinic, a cutaneous T cell lymphoma clinic and an atypical mole clinic, involving strong collaborations with dermatopathologists and medical oncologists. Dermatology has become a surgical subspecialty, with an official designation of a dermatological surgery fellowship since 2002. The majority of dermatologic surgery is performed at the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion on patients with skin cancer, with Mohs micrographic surgery and repair of surgical lesions being the specialty of the Dermatology Cutaneous Oncology program. Dermatology already has a good relationship with Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology; it will increase its collaboration with the Department of Surgery and is already working closely with Plastic Surgery in The Cosmetic Center at the University Medicine-Denver clinic. Additionally, Dermatology has formed a new partnership with the Department of Pathology to enhance clinical care, teaching and research in Dermatopathology. This partnership is a recognition of the importance of skin pathology in the mission of both departments.
Clinical services are provided in three locations: the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion on the Fitzsimons campus, the Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and an outpatient division at Denver Health Medical Center. Consultation services also are provided for many departments.
Now that Dermatology has been at the Anschutz Cancer Pavilion for four years, new physicians have been recruited giving a total of 20 faculty members. After the merger of the AMC Cancer Center with the Health Sciences Center, Dermatology's faculty will increase to about 27 members. With AMC's strong skin carcinogenesis program, and focus on non-melanoma skin cancer as well as melanoma, several members of that program will become members of the Dermatology department. We are very excited to increase our direct involvement in the study of basic mechanisms of skin cancer and carcinogenesis. One of my personal goals is to establish a skin carcinogenesis institute headed by a nationally recognized research figure. The combination of the established research program we already have in melanoma and the strong research program of AMC Cancer Center will be a foundation to build the institute over the next five years. This is an exciting time of real opportunity for us. We have greatly expanded since our move to the Fitzsimons campus, and look forward to new prospects and challenges in both the clinical and research settings.
David Norris, M.D.
Chair Department of Dermatology