Barbara Gilchrest, M.D., named charter fellow

Dermatologist Barbara Gilchrest, M.D., has been named a 2012 Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Dr. Gilchrest, a professor and Chair Emeritus of the department of dermatology at Boston University School of Medicine and dermatologist at Boston Medical Center, is one of four faculty members at Boston University who were nominated to the NAI in 2012, according to a news release.

This year’s charter fellows, who are elected by their peers, represent 98 innovators from 54 universities and nonprofit research institutes. The professional distinction is given to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society.

Dr. Gilchrest is board-certified in internal medicine and dermatology. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed residencies in internal medicine and dermatology at Harvard-affiliated hospitals. Dr. Gilchrest has clinical and laboratory-based research interests in skin aging and pigmentation and she has published extensively based on her pioneering work in these fields.

NAI Charter Fellows will be inducted at the second annual conference of the NAI on Feb. 22 in Tampa, Fla. Fellows will be presented with a trophy and a rosette pin.