Amy S Paller, MD

USA

Director, Northwestern University Skin Disease Research Center (SDRC)

The Paller lab studies the role of topically-applied, nanotherapy based gene therapy to treat skin disease, particularly diabetic ulcers, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), skin cancer, and rare genetic skin problems. Her lab also focuses on unraveling the mechanism by which membrane-based glycosphingolipids modulate signaling, especially of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and studying the mechanism of the abnormal innervation in skin related to pain. Dr. Paller is the PI of Northwestern's Skin Disease Research Center, which includes 3 Cores dedicated to providing service to researchers of skin biology. As a pediatric dermatologist, Dr. Paller specializes in genetic (esp. ichthyoses and epidermolysis bullosa) and immune-mediated inflammatory (esp. atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and autoimmune disorders) in children. As director of pediatric dermatology clinical research, Dr. Paller has led almost 100 clinical trials. Her most recent translational research has: a) defined the immunophenotypes in early atopic dermatitis in children, paving the way for targeted therapy; b) discovered the immune dysregulation that may lead to inflamed skin in the ichthyoses, leading to a novel clinical trial with repurposed medication; and c) discovered evidence for an important role for ganglioside GM3 as an intermediate in the insulin resistance in diabetic skin and also in development of diabetic neuropathy.