Joseph Merola, M.D., M.M.Sc. Titles and Appointments Professor & Chair Endowed Title Mary Kay Inc. Distinguished Chair in Dermatology School Medical School Department Dermatology | Internal Medicine | Public Health You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Joseph F. Merola, M.D., M.M.Sc., is Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology, Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Rheumatic Diseases, and Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr School of Public Health at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He holds the Mary Kay Inc. Distinguished Chair in Dermatology. He’s an international expert in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis; connective tissue diseases, including lupus and dermatomyositis; and complex medical dermatology, including atopic dermatitis requiring systemic therapy. Dr. Merola earned his medical degree at the New York University School of Medicine and his Master of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School. He completed an internship in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a residency in dermatology at New York University Medical Center, where he was Chief Resident. He continued with a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. One of only a handful of physicians in the country who are triple board-certified in dermatology, internal medicine, and rheumatology, Dr. Merola joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2023. Previously, he was Vice Chair of Dermatology and Founding Director of the Unit for Clinical Trials and Innovation at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he also directed the Center for Skin and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases. At UT Southwestern, Dr. Merola is the Director of Clinical Trials and Innovation and continues clinical translational research in inflammatory and autoimmune skin disease, pharmacoepidemiology, and the development of novel outcome measures, including digital health measures for use in both clinical research and clinical care. He serves as the founding President of the Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network (PPACMAN) Consortium. He is also the current President of the Medical Dermatology Society (MDS), Treasurer and board member of the International Dermatology Outcome Measures Group (IDEOM), and President-Elect of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). Additionally, he is a member of the medical and scientific boards of the National Psoriasis Foundation and the Lupus Foundation of America, and President-Elect of the Rheumatologic Dermatology Society. Dr. Merola is also a member of the International Eczema Council and the International Psoriasis Council. He’s served on multiple national committees, including the Guidelines Committee for the American Academy of Dermatology. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed publications and received numerous awards, including the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Outstanding Educator Award, the Winter Clinical Educator of the Year Award, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Distinguished Clinician Award, and the Mass General Brigham Pillars of Excellence Award in Research Leadership. He was named one of Boston’s Top Doctors for nearly a decade. Dr. Merola will be honored in 2024 at the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Commit to a Cure Gala in Dallas. Education Medical School New York University (2005) Graduate School Harvard University (2013) Undergraduate New York University (2024), Biology Research Interest Atopic dermatitis Clinical trials, clinical trial design Connective tissue disease and autoimmune skin diseases Cutaneous and systemic lupus erythematosus Outcome measures development, validation Pharmacoepidemiology Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis Publications Psoriasis Armstrong AW, Blauvelt A, Callis Duffin K, Huang YH, Savage LJ, Guo L, Merola JF Nature Reviews Disease Primers 2025 Dec 11 Real-world use of biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in US patients with psoriatic arthritis: Persistence, patient characteristics associated with discontinuation, and dosing patterns Merola JF, Welby S, Roque H, Song J, Pilipczuk O, Lu C, Walsh JA Journal of managed care & specialty pharmacy 2025 Aug 31 808-821 Novel Therapeutic Targets in the Management of Psoriatic Disease Childs BA, Merola JF Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America 2025 Aug 51 447-468 Inter-Rater and Intra-Rater Reliability of the Cutaneous Lupus Activity-Investigator Global Assessment-Revised Instrument Merola JF, Zhang AJ, Childs BA, Li M, Smith JS, Chong BF, Gottlieb AB, Werth VP, Elman SA, Pérez-Chada LM Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2025 Aug 145 2085-2088.e2 Association between lichen planus, psychiatric comorbidities, and psychiatric medication use Wu A, Rosenberg A, DeBusk L, Mauskar M, Merola JF, Nezafati K JAAD International 2025 Aug 21 34-36 Deucravacitinib in Patients with Plaque Psoriasis Who Screened Positive for Psoriatic Arthritis: Improvements in Joint Pain and the Impact of Musculoskeletal Symptoms Merola JF, Mease PJ, Armstrong AW, Strand V, Lehman T, Varga S, Choi JC, Becker B, Zhong Y, Colombo MJ, Thaçi D, Bili A, Gottlieb AB Dermatology and Therapy 2025 Aug 15 2281-2293 Construct Validity of the IDEOM Musculoskeletal Questionnaire: An Instrument to Measure Musculoskeletal Symptoms in Patients with Psoriatic Disease Perez-Chada LM, Gondo G, Grant C, Woodbury M, Kucharik AH, Armstrong AW, Eder L, Mease P, Ogdie A, Strand V, Gottlieb AB, Merola JF Journal of Investigative Dermatology 2025 Jul 145 1798-1801.e4 Oral Peptide Therapeutics as an Emerging Treatment Modality in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: A Narrative Review Stein Gold L, Eyerich K, Merola JF, Torres J, Coates LC, Allegretti JR Advances in Therapy 2025 Jul 42 3158-3172 Correction to: Safety and Efficacy of Bimekizumab in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: 2-Year Results from Two Phase 3 Studies (Rheumatology and Therapy, (2024), 11, 5, (1363-1382), 10.1007/s40744-024-00708-8) Mease PJ, Merola JF, Tanaka Y, Gossec L, McInnes IB, Ritchlin CT, Landewé RB, Asahina A, Ink B, Heinrichs A, Bajracharya R, Shende V, Coarse J, Coates LC Rheumatology and Therapy 2025 Jun 12 597-599 Deucravacitinib, a selective, TYK2 inhibitor, in psoriatic arthritis: Achievement of minimal disease activity components in a phase 2 trial Kavanaugh A, Coates LC, Mease PJ, Nowak M, Hippeli L, Lehman T, Banerjee S, Merola JF Rheumatology 2025 May 64 2557-2564 Results 1-10 of 405 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last Books Featured Books Interdisciplinary Approaches to Overlap Disorders in Dermatology & Rheumatology (1st ed.) Garg A, Merola JF, Fitzpatrick L (2022). Springer Publishing Drug-induced lupus erythematosus in Clinical Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (2nd ed.) Merola, JF (1996). Philadelphia, PA, Lippincott-Raven Honors & Awards Honoree National Psoriasis Foundation Gala (2024) Distinguished Clinician AwardBrigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School (2022) Educator of the Year AwardWinter Clinical Dermatology Conference (2022) Nominee, Senior Faculty Mentorship Award / Pillars of Excellence AwardMass General Brigham (2022) Outstanding Educator in Psoriatic Disease AwardNational Psoriasis Foundation Annual Meeting (2022) Pillars of Excellence Award in Research LeadershipBrigham and Womens Hospital (2020) Boston Top Doctors8 Consecutive Years Nominated for Multiple Teaching AwardsBernard Lown Award, Harvard Mentoring Award, and Charles McCabe Award Professional Associations/Affiliations American Academy of Dermatology American College of Rheumatology American Dermatological Association Association of Professors of Dermatology Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis International Eczema Council International Psoriasis Council Lupus Foundation of America Medical Dermatology Society National Psoriasis Foundation Noah Worcester Dermatological Society Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network Rheumatologic Dermatology Society Society for Investigative Dermatology
