Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE

Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, is the James J. Leyden, M.D. Endowed Professor in Clinical Investigation and a professor of dermatology and epidemiology (with tenure) at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also vice-chair of clinical research, medical director of the Dermatology Clinical Studies Unit, and medical director of the Psoriasis and Phototherapy Treatment Center. 

Dr Gelfand is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in psoriasis, clinical epidemiology, drug safety, and clinical trials. He is the author of more than 260 scientific publications, editorials, reviews, and textbook chapters (cited more than 30,000 times, H index 80) that appear in journals such as The Journal of the American Medical Association, The BMJ, the European Heart Journal, the Annals of Rheumatic Disease, JAMA Dermatology, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. He is a past associate editor of Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, is a past editorial board member of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and is currently deputy editor of the Journal Investigative Dermatology. 

He is the recipient of the American Skin Association’s Psoriasis Achievement Award, Penn’s Marjorie A. Bowman New Investigator Research Award and the Lady Barbara Colyton Award for Autoimmune Research, Penn’s Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology’s Epidemiology Teaching Award, the National Psoriasis Foundation's (NPF's) inaugural Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, and the American Dermato-Epidemiology Network’s Founders Award. Dr Gelfand is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, he co-chairs the NPF COVID-19 Task Force, and he is a member of the International Psoriasis Council Board of Directors. 

He is a coauthor of the American Academy of Dermatology-NPF joint guidelines of care for psoriasis. He has given more than 10 named lectureships and keynote addresses; he is a Society for Investigative Dermatology’s Eugene M. Farber lecturer and the American Academy of Dermatology’s Marion B. Sulzberger, MD, lecturer. He has received grant support from the National Institutes of Health, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the NPF, the Dermatology Foundation, the American Skin Association, and numerous pharmaceutical companies to support his independent research program. The overarching goal of his research and clinical practice is to improve psoriasis patient outcomes in the skin and joints, while lowering the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality.