Interview with Professor Desmond J. Tobin of the Charles Institute of Dermatology at UCD (University College Dublin). Prof. Des Tobin discusses the connection between hair and dermatology. He also discusses the relationship between he and the Charles Institute, and Dr Maurice Collins and HRBR.
Launched in September 2011, the UCD Charles Institute of Dermatology is the largest single investment into dermatological research and education in Ireland.
It was funded by a €18 million capital investment to drive research into the causes of a range of human skin diseases and for discovery of potential treatments. Up to €12 m was contributed by the City of Dublin Skin and Cancer Hospital Charity with the remaining €6 m and the site for the institute was provided for via UCD.
It is the first academic institute devoted to dermatology research and education on the island of Ireland. The iconic 2,000 m2 institute building sits on the north-west side of the UCD Belfield campus, between the Health Sciences Centre and the Conway Institute of Biomedical & Biomolecular Research.
Desmond Tobin is a Full Professor of Dermatological Science at UCD School of Medicine and Director of the Charles Institute of Dermatology, University College Dublin (since Sept 2018).
His H-Index is currently 65 with 12778 citations (Scopus, Summer 2022). and 77 with 20,000 citations (Google Scholar, Summer 2022).
Previously he was Professor of Cell Biology and Director of the Centre for Skin Sciences (2009-2018) at University of Bradford, where he holds an Honorary Visiting Research Professorship.
Desmond was awarded a BSc from the National University of Ireland (Maynooth), a PhD from the University of London (St. John’s Institute of Dermatology) and has held post-doctoral training and Junior Faculty positions at New York University Medical School’s Department of Dermatology.
Over the past 25+ years he has researched in basic and applied skin/hair sciences, with a particular focus on the regulation of hair growth in health and disease especially those conditions with an immune-medicated basis, and on the biology of human melanocytes/pigmentation in health and disease.
His lab was the first to identify antibodies to hair follicle-specific antigens in patients with acute alopecia areata and is working to identify targeted (auto)antigens in this common condition.
His lab was the first to establish melanocytes from the human hair follicles in long-term culture.
His lab also identified a ‘self-similarity’ between the POMC peptide system in the human hair follicle pigmentary unit and that of the central stress axis. Specifically, he examined how pigmentation can be regulated by CRF and POMC peptides (incl. beta endorphin), and more recently by bone
26 мар 2024
