Dermatology
Clinical Dermatology is based at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) and operates a "hub and spoke” model with facilities that include:
- a dedicated outpatient department
- a dedicated 16-bed dermatology ward
- an outpatient treatment centre
- a PUVA/phototherapy unit
- a dermatology surgery unit
- a laser treatment suite
- a photo-testing unit
- a clinical research unit.
We will be moving into excellent new dedicated clinical space within the “new build” of the RVI in June 2009. We cover a population of 1.2 million and see approximately 70 thousand patients per year.
The Dermatology directorate covers adult and paediatric skin disorders, surgical dermatology, and a variety of sub-specialty areas including:
- Cutaneous lymphoma (with Oncologists)
- Contact dermatitis
- Complex eczema
- Genital dermatoses
- Melanoma screening
- Complex psoriasis (including biological therapies)
- PUVA/phototherapy
- Photosensitive skin disorders
- Rapid Access Skin Cancer Clinic.
Clinical Academic Training in Dermatology
We place a strong emphasis on post-graduate training. Clinical SpRs from both the Northern Deanery Rotation are based at the RVI and trainees from the Southern Rotation also spend time in the RVI department. In 2006/2007 we were one of only three units in England and Wales to be awarded academic clinical fellowships in dermatology through a national competition and a Walport/NIHR Lectureship was recently established.
Many of our clinical trainees pursue higher research degrees funded through external nationally funded fellowships. Dermatology is one of six priority areas supported through a Wellcome Clinical Research Training Fellowship Scheme in Translational Medicine & Therapeutics at Newcastle University which provides up to 4 fellowships per year for the next 5 years.
This scheme is designed principally to provide training for clinicians in translational research to PhD level in Newcastle. The six dermatology principal investigators are all members of the Institute of Cellular Medicine and the Dermatology, Skin and Environment Interactions Group.
Dermatology Research
There are unlimited opportunities for research and this is strongly encouraged. Newcastle is one of the leading dermatological research units in the country and has excellent facilities for both basic and clinical research. There is a strong emphasis on the integration of clinical investigation and non-clinical science and there is a close working relationship between the clinical department and the academic department, based within the Institute of Cellular Medicine.
Dermatological research in Newcastle is focused on 6 broad themes:
- Clinical, translational and therapeutic research on inflammatory skin disease (principally psoriasis and atopic eczema)
- Pathogenesis, molecular and signalling mechanisms of inflammatory skin disease
- Cutaneous response to damage signals from the environment – including ultraviolet radiation
- Pathogenesis and therapeutics of skin cancer
- Cutaneous immunology
- Stem cell research
The dermatology labs have recently benefited from a £900k refurbishment programme supported by the Science Research Investment Fund Round 2 (SRIF2) and provide state of the art facilities including uniquely in the UK access to two departmental confocal microscopes and close association with the Faculty Bioimaging Facilities.
There are strong links to the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, the Institute of Human Genetics, the North East England Stem Cell Institute and the Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences.
Contact for Dermatology:
Professor Nick Reynolds
n.j.reynoldsr@ncl.ac.uk
