Derm In The News: September 3-9

Keep up with the latest headlines in dermatology from the past week, including awareness efforts following singer Jimmy Buffett's death from complications of Merkel cell carcinoma, AI dermatology tools lacking representation of darker skin tones, and more.

Tulane News: Tulane professor combines love of dermatology and public health to treat neglected tropical diseases

Rie Yotsu, MD, MIPH, DTM&H, PhD, an associate professor at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, dedicates her research to skin-related neglected tropical diseases and volunteering in countries where access to dermatologists is limited.

Stanford University: AI Shows Dermatology Educational Materials Often Lack Darker Skin Tones

Recent studies have shown that annotated photos depicting the dermatologic symptoms of COVID-19 lacked representation of patients with darker skin types. Several existing studies have highlighted this disparity, including the recently published Skin Tone Analysis for Representation in EDucational material (STAR-ED).

Forbes: Merkel Cell Carcinoma: What To Know About The Skin Cancer That Killed Jimmy Buffett

Last week, singer Jimmy Buffett died following a 4-year battle with Merkel cell carcinoma. Now, dermatologists are beginning to share their knowledge of the rare cancer and advocate for better patient education surrounding it.

Patient-Forward Rundown

Top headlines from this week to share with your patients

Northwestern Medicine: Understanding Mechanisms Underlying Skin Development

Scientists from Northwestern Medicine have published a study in Nature Communications related to a gene called MOF is essential for histone modification's regulation of skin development.

WAFF: Florence couple creates new app aimed to spot skin cancer faster

A husband and wife duo from Florence, Alabama, have developed a new app called Check my Spot, which aims to provide greater ease of access to dermatologic evaluation of suspicious skin lesions.

Have you seen any dermatology headlines this week that we may have missed? Share with us by emailing our team at DTEditor@mmhgroup.com.