Written and maintained by CASRAI Editorial Board
Last updated
Dermatology is the branch of medicine and biomedical science devoted to the skin and its appendages, the hair and nails, together with the mucous membranes that border them. It is a clinical specialty practised by dermatologists and their colleagues in pathology, surgery and primary care, and it is a research discipline spanning skin biology, immunology, genetics, epidemiology and clinical trials. This guide explains what dermatology covers and how its subspecialties divide the work, then adds the research-administration layer that generic overviews leave out: how the discipline is funded, how its training and certification are organized, how trials of skin treatments measure outcomes, and which societies and journals anchor the field. It is educational, not medical advice.
What Is Dermatology?
The skin is the body’s largest organ and its interface with the outside world. It forms a physical and immune barrier, helps regulate temperature, and carries sensory nerves. Dermatology addresses conditions that arise in the skin itself and conditions in which the skin reveals disease elsewhere in the body. The American Board of Dermatology describes its purpose as certifying that diplomates have the knowledge and skills to provide high-quality, safe, and effective dermatologic care, which gives a sense of how the clinical specialty defines itself.
The conditions studied range widely. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) lists a set of skin topics on its health information pages that gives a representative picture of the research agenda: acne, alopecia areata, atopic dermatitis, epidermolysis bullosa, hidradenitis suppurativa, ichthyosis, pachyonychia congenita, pemphigus, psoriasis, rosacea, scleroderma and vitiligo, among others. These include common inflammatory diseases, autoimmune blistering disorders, rare inherited conditions and conditions that straddle skin and connective tissue. Skin cancer, infections, wounds and pigmentary disorders are also part of the field’s clinical and scientific scope.
Dermatology is distinctive among specialties in a practical way: most of the organ is visible and accessible. Clinicians can examine lesions directly, photograph them, sample them with a small biopsy and watch how they respond to treatment over time. That accessibility is one reason skin is a favored setting for translational research.
Scope: Medical, Surgical, Procedural and Cosmetic Practice
Clinical dermatology is usually described in overlapping strands:
- Medical dermatology diagnoses and manages inflammatory, autoimmune, infectious and genetic skin diseases, increasingly with systemic and biologic therapies.
- Surgical and procedural dermatology covers biopsies, excisions, destruction of lesions and other in-office procedures, including the specialized margin-controlled surgery discussed below.
- Skin cancer care includes screening, diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers, often in coordination with oncology.
- Cosmetic dermatology addresses aesthetic concerns of the skin, hair and nails. It sits alongside, and is distinct from, medically necessary care.
Because dermatology is largely office-based, it has a distinctive operational and billing profile. Two practical topics are covered separately on this site and are not repeated here: the stocking and ordering side is in the dermatology office supply checklist, and the coding question of billing a visit and a procedure on the same day is in E/M coding with a dermatology procedure on the same day.
Subspecialties and Adjacent Fields
The American Board of Dermatology certifies general dermatology and three subspecialty areas, which are a useful map of the formal subspecialties in the United States.
Dermatopathology
Dermatopathology is the microscopic diagnosis of skin disease. A dermatopathologist examines biopsy and excision specimens, interprets the tissue architecture and cell changes under the microscope, and often adds special stains, immunostaining or molecular tests to reach a diagnosis. It is a bridge between dermatology and pathology, and the pathology report is what turns a clinical impression into a confirmed diagnosis for conditions such as skin cancers, inflammatory dermatoses and blistering diseases. The American Board of Dermatology lists a dermatopathology subspecialty examination among its certifications. How dermatopathology certification is administered across boards, and the length of fellowship training, should be confirmed with the certifying bodies, since this guide does not state them.
Pediatric Dermatology
Pediatric dermatology treats skin disease in infants, children and adolescents, including inherited disorders, birthmarks and childhood eruptions. The American Board of Dermatology lists it as a subspecialty certification.
Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery
Micrographic dermatologic surgery, commonly known as Mohs surgery, is a staged technique for removing certain skin cancers in which the surgeon examines the removed tissue margins microscopically so that cancer can be traced and removed while sparing healthy tissue. The American Board of Dermatology lists micrographic dermatologic surgery as a subspecialty.
Neighboring Specialties
- Rheumatology overlaps with dermatology in autoimmune and connective-tissue disease, and NIAMS itself covers both fields, listing scleroderma among its skin topics.
- Immunology underpins the understanding of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and autoimmune blistering disease, and drives much of the modern drug pipeline.
- Oncology shares responsibility for melanoma and other skin cancers.
- Microbiology informs the study of skin infections and the skin microbiome.
Research Areas and Methods
Skin research is unusually varied because the organ is accessible. Common approaches include:
- Skin biology and barrier research, studying how the epidermis forms and maintains its protective layer and what goes wrong in conditions such as ichthyosis or atopic dermatitis.
- Immunology of inflammatory skin disease, which has led to targeted therapies aimed at specific immune pathways. See What Is Immunology?
- Genetic and rare-disease research, particularly for inherited blistering and keratinization disorders such as epidermolysis bullosa, ichthyosis and pachyonychia congenita, all named among NIAMS skin topics. See What Is Genomics?
- Tissue-based and histologic methods, including biopsy, immunostaining and dermatopathology review, often combined with molecular analysis.
- Imaging and clinical photography, used to document lesions and, increasingly, to support computer-assisted analysis. See What Is Medical Imaging?
- Epidemiology and registries, tracking how common skin diseases are, who develops them and how they progress. See What Is Epidemiology?
- Pharmacology and drug development, covering topical, oral and injected therapies. See What Is Pharmacology?
Clinical Trials and Endpoints in Dermatology
Dermatology trials follow the same phase structure as other medical research, described in Clinical Trial Phases, and rest on informed consent and independent ethics review. What differs is how outcomes are measured. Because disease is visible and often symptomatic, skin trials commonly combine several kinds of measurement:
- Clinician-assessed measures, in which a trained investigator scores the extent, severity or global appearance of disease using a defined scale. Disease-specific instruments exist for conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and an investigator global assessment is a common type of primary or key secondary endpoint.
- Patient-reported outcomes, which capture symptoms that clinicians cannot observe directly, notably itch and the effect of disease on sleep and daily life. See clinical outcome assessment (COA) and choosing and validating a PROM.
- Photographic and imaging endpoints, in which standardized photographs may be scored centrally to reduce investigator variability.
- Composite and responder definitions, in which a participant counts as a responder only if several criteria are met together. See the composite endpoint entry.
Specific thresholds, instrument versions and regulatory expectations differ by disease and by agency, and this guide does not state them. Consult the relevant protocol, agency guidance and the instrument developers for the details of any particular trial. Questions of what counts as a meaningful change on a scale are treated in MCID: anchor-based vs distribution-based estimation. Many skin trials are placebo-controlled or use a vehicle control for topical products; the design is explained in the placebo-controlled study design entry, and blinding choices are compared in open-label vs double-blind trial design. Statistical planning for such trials draws on biostatistics.
Who Funds Skin Disease Research
In the United States, NIAMS is the National Institutes of Health institute whose mission is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. It describes skin diseases as one of its major research areas and supports both extramural research, awarded to investigators at universities and other institutions, and an intramural research program. NIAMS directs applicants to its pages on funding mechanisms (activity codes) and encourages communication with NIH staff throughout the grant life cycle. Skin research can also be funded by other NIH institutes depending on the disease: for example, cancer by the National Cancer Institute (see NCI Funding) and immune-mediated disease by institutes focused on allergy and immunology. Industry sponsors fund much late-stage drug development, and disease foundations and professional societies add smaller targeted awards.
For researchers, the practical points are the same as for any NIH-funded work. Pay attention to award mechanisms, including cooperative agreements, covered in the U01 NIH cooperative agreement entry, and to data-sharing obligations, summarized in NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan. Funding thresholds change from year to year; see NIH paylines for fiscal year 2026 for the figures this site tracks. All of this sits within research administration, the compliance and grants-management layer that makes funded science possible.
Societies, Boards and Journals
American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)
The AAD describes itself as the largest, most influential, and representative dermatology group in the United States. It supports its physician members with practice management and clinical resources, advocates on matters such as Medicare payment for skin cancer care, and holds an annual meeting; its 2026 meeting was scheduled for Denver, Colorado, from March 27 to 31.
Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID)
The SID was founded in 1937, states its mission as catalyzing and communicating breakthroughs in skin science, and held its first annual meeting in 1938. It serves scientists, physicians and educators working in skin biology and publishes the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, launched under founding editor Marion B. Sulzberger, along with JID Innovations. For researchers, the SID is the society most closely identified with basic and translational skin science, while the AAD is oriented toward clinical practice and policy.
American Board of Dermatology (ABD)
The ABD is an independent, non-profit organization, established in 1932, and one of 24 medical specialty boards within the American Board of Medical Specialties. It certifies general dermatology and the dermatopathology, pediatric dermatology and micrographic dermatologic surgery subspecialties described above. Certification is distinct from licensure, which is granted by state or national authorities.
Journals
The Journal of Investigative Dermatology is named above. Other dermatology journals exist from the AAD and from international and national societies, and general medical journals also publish skin research, but this guide names only those verified from the societies’ own pages.
Training and Career Pathways
Training varies by country, so verify requirements with the relevant licensing and certifying bodies. In the United States, a dermatologist is a physician who completes medical school and a dermatology residency, then can seek board certification through the American Board of Dermatology. Further fellowship training leads to the subspecialties named above. Physician-scientists often add research training supported by career-development awards. Laboratory-based skin researchers typically hold a PhD and complete postdoctoral training in skin biology, immunology or genetics. Clinical research coordinators, biostatisticians, data managers, regulatory staff and research administrators support dermatology trials and grants, as they do in other fields. The exact length of residency and fellowship training is not stated here and should be confirmed with the program and board.
Why Dermatology Matters for Research Administration
For a research administrator, dermatology illustrates several recurring issues in one field. Rare-disease programs raise questions about small populations and registries. Tissue-based studies raise questions about specimen handling and consent. Photographs of identifiable body regions raise privacy and consent questions that are more acute than for most data types. Multi-site device and drug trials depend on consistent outcome scoring across investigators. And the field’s mix of clinical, laboratory and industry-sponsored work means that award mechanisms, agreements and compliance obligations vary widely between projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a dermatologist do?
A dermatologist is a physician who diagnoses and treats conditions of the skin, hair and nails. Care may involve medical treatment, procedures such as biopsies and excisions, and screening for skin cancer.
What is dermatopathology?
It is the microscopic diagnosis of skin disease from biopsy and excision specimens. The American Board of Dermatology lists dermatopathology as a subspecialty certification. See What Is Pathology?
Which NIH institute funds skin research?
NIAMS is the NIH institute whose mission explicitly includes skin diseases. Other institutes may fund skin-related work according to the disease, such as cancer or immune-mediated conditions.
What is the difference between the AAD and the SID?
The AAD is a large clinical and professional organization for dermatologists in the United States. The SID focuses on investigative and translational skin science and publishes the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
How do skin disease trials measure success?
They commonly combine clinician-scored severity or global assessments with patient-reported symptoms such as itch, and sometimes with photographic or imaging endpoints. The exact instruments depend on the disease and protocol.
Is cosmetic dermatology a research field?
Cosmetic practice is a clinical activity, though products and procedures used in it can be studied in trials. Medically necessary care and cosmetic care are generally distinguished in coverage and billing.
Is this page medical advice?
No. It describes a field and its research infrastructure. Anyone with questions about a skin condition should consult a qualified clinician.
