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Dermatology in Chicago began in 1870 when Dr. James Nevin Hyde arrived. He was the first Professor of Skin-Genitourinary and Venereal Disease at Northwestern University, appointed in 1876. Dr. Hyde was the first to note the relationship between ultraviolet light and skin cancer, and he authored the major dermatology text, Diseases of the Skin published in 1883. He was also the first President of the Chicago Dermatological Society when it was founded in 1901. Dr Joseph Zeisler, who trained with Dr. Kaposi in Vienna, became a Professor at Northwestern in 1889. He became the first Chair of the Department of Dermatology when it was formally established in 1896, the year that the medical school was first organized by departments. Dr. Frederick Harris succeeded Dr. Zeisler in 1917, but died shortly thereafter. Dr. Arthur Stillians was appointed the new Chair in 1919 and served until 1940. Dr. Edward Oliver followed Dr. Stillians for a 10-year term, during which he was instrumental in the tremendous growth of the Chicago Dermatological Society.
Dr. Herbert Rattner joined the faculty in 1940, and was Chair of the Department from 1951 until his death in 1962. Dr. Rattner was a champion of bench research at Northwestern, and established laboratories that investigated collagen, exopeptidases, and fluorescent substances in hair. He was also the Editor of the Archives of Dermatology and a prolific writer. Dr. Samuel Bluefarb became the next Chairman of the department in 1962 and was the first Walter J. Hamlin Professor of Dermatology. Dr. Bluefarb started the strong program in cutaneous lymphomas at Northwestern and wrote extensively about lymphomas and skin signs of systemic disorders. The annual Bluefarb lecture at the Fall Chicago Dermatological Society meeting is named in his honor. Dr. Bluefarb passed away in June 2007.
Training in dermatology in the early years involved the trainee spending time in a dermatologist’s office as a preceptor, and, until 1977, the chairs of dermatology were part-time at the medical school and part-time in private practice. Prior to 1974 residents saw patients at Northwestern’s Montgomery Ward Clinic under the supervision of the clinical faculty. In 1974 the first faculty-based practice group was established, the Northwestern University Medical Associates, and this has evolved into the current faculty-based practice group, the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation. Clinical training takes place within the Faculty Foundation clinics at Northwestern and Children’s Memorial Hospital under supervision of the full-time faculty.
The operation of the Dermatology Clinic, both in medical and surgical dermatology, as well as clinical research, was greatly expanded during the tenure of the first full-time chair, Dr. Henry Roenigk. He served as chair from 1977 to 1992, when he moved to Arizona to practice. The laboratory research program was expanded during the tenure of the next chair, Dr. David Woodley, who served from 1992 to 1998. Additional full-time clinical and research faculty members were added during the tenure of Dr. John Ansel, and Dr. Robert Lavker was appointed Director of Research in 2002. Under the leadership of the current chair, Dr. Amy Paller, who became chair in 2004, the teaching faculty and the scope of clinical and research activities have been further expanded. The department now includes 12 full-time clinical dermatologists and 7 basic scientists whose laboratories are housed in the new Dermatology Research Unit, established in 2002.
Formal resident training in Pediatric Dermatology began with the appointment of Dr. Nancy Esterly as the full-time Head of the Division of Dermatology at Children’s Memorial Hospital in 1977, and the first Pediatric Dermatology fellowship in the United States was established there in 1983. Dr. Esterly was succeeded as Head by Dr. Amy Paller in 1988. Dr. Anthony Mancini, who became Head when Dr. Paller became Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Northwestern, now heads the Division.
The Dermatopathology Section of the department was formally initiated in 1967 by Dr. William Caro, and has played a major role both in the teaching of dermatopathology and in rendering dermatopathology services to many practicing dermatologists. A two-year Dermatopathology Fellowship was established in 2000. The Dermatopathology Section has been under the direction of Dr. Joan Guitart since 1997.
The Section of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery has been strong since the 1970’s under the leadership of Dr. Roenigk. Dr. Murad Alam, who joined the faculty in 2002, currently heads the section.
Clinical research is co-directed by Dr. Dennis West, a specialist in dermatopharmacology, who has been a member of the department since 1995. The Clinical Trials Unit was formally established in 1996; virtually all clinical faculty members participate in investigator-initiated and/or pharmaceutical company sponsored trials with adult or pediatric patients. The department currently has five clinical research fellows at its adult and pediatric clinics.
With the continuing expansion of the activities of the department, the department moved in June of 2006. This new 24,000 square foot facility on the Northwestern medical campus houses all of the academic offices as well as a markedly expanded medical and surgical dermatology facility.
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