Longtime EVMS community faculty member David M. Pariser, MD, professor of dermatology, has taken the reins as president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The yearlong post makes Dr. Pariser the the point person for the AAD’s 16,000 members.

“My primary role is to advocate for the patients and advocate for the profession,” he says, noting that the academy’s most pressing issue include the shrinking corps of care givers and how health-care reform will affect the field.

“The biggest issue right now in dermatology is the workforce. There are not enough dermatologists in the U.S., and they’re scattered disproportionately,” he says. There is now a greater need for skin specialists in urban cores than in less-populated areas.

Dr. Pariser, whose father, Harry Pariser, MD, helped launch the dermatology program at EVMS, is a prolific publisher and an active member of his field’s professional organizations. He earned the AAD’s distinguished presidential citation in 2000, 2002 and 2004, and he has been among the leaders of more than 90 councils, committees and task forces for the AAD.

Dr. Pariser is also the secretary/treasurer of the American Dermatological Association, president of the Eastern Virginia Dermatology Foundation, president of the International Hyperhidrosis Society and is a past president of the Virginia Dermatological Society. He has authored more than 160 publications, including three books. Evan Farmer, MD, former EVMS dean, is the AAD’s vice president.