Department of Dermatology

Donald V. Belsito, M.D., Professor of Clinical Dermatology, will join our department at the Columbia University Medical Center in April, 2011. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University and then did his residency in Dermatology and post-doctoral training in Immunodermatology at the New York University Medical Center. Dr. Belsito is an internationally recognized expert in allergic contact dermatitis and occupational dermatology. He is a founding member of the American Contact Dermatitis Society and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. Dr. Belsito will begin accepting appointments starting April 4, 2011. For more information please call 212-305-5293.

Columbia Dermatology Receives $1 Million Pledge from Locks of Love, INC for Hair Loss Research

Locks of Love, Inc., a Florida-based non-profit corporation, has made a commitment of $1 million to the Department of Dermatology in support of Dr. Angela Christiano and her team’s human clinical trials in the treatment of alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder that causes abnormal, and often total, hair loss. Alopecia areata affects more than five million Americans, and has no known cause or cure.

This initiative was spearheaded by the president of Locks of Love, Inc., Madonna Coffman, a retired cardiac nurse with a great deal of volunteer experience working for not-for-profits in the surrounding Palm Beach area.

Locks of Love, Inc. provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada who suffer from long-term medical hair loss. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to alopecia areata.

Opening the Door to the Future of Dermatologic Research

The Florence and Herbert Irving Center for Dermatology and Skin Cancer Research opened officially with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 9, 2011. Occupying the third floor of the Russ Berrie Medical Science Pavilion, the center is directed by Angela Christiano, PhD, Richard and Mildred Rhodebeck Professor of Dermatology and professor of genetics & development.

Lee Goldman, MD, dean of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and David R. Bickers, MD, Carl Truman Nelson Professor in Dermatology and department chair, expressed their gratitude on behalf of the entire medical school community to Mr. and Mrs. Irving, who were present at the event.