The department aims to prioritize research in areas with lacunae in available scientific information in the specialty by way of interdepartmental collaboration. Special areas of interest include genetic predisposition in psoriasis, pathogenesis of vitiligo and urticaria, and newer procedures in dermatosurgery and cosmetology. Research into systems and practices are also being performed to create new models in care delivery. In this regard the faculties of the department have obtained extramural funding from ICMR, DST-SERB, DBT, and IADVL. There are 6 project staffs and one PhD student in the department for assisting with research activities. The extramural funded projects and the research undertaken in the form of PG dissertation in the last five years is provided.

Extramural Funded Projects: Ongoing: DHR funded project:

1    Primer to gene based personalized management model to predict the efficacy of methotrexate monotherapy in patients with psoriasis in South Indian Population

ICMR funded projects:

2     Association of minimum inhibitory concentration of oral antifungals with therapeutic outcome among patients with extensive tinea corporis: proposal for establishing interpretive clinical breakpoints

3     Usefulness of RNA based PCR for assessing diagnosis and adequacy of treatment in leprosy

4     Screening for anal intraepithelial neoplasia among men having sex with men attending a designated Sexually Transmitted Infection clinic in South India

5     In-vitro model to predict causal drug in drug hypersensitivity to antibiotics: potential tests based on measurement of drug-specific T cell response

DST-SERB funded projects:

6     Non-invasive assessment of methotrexate induced hepatotoxicity in psoriatic patients using biochemical markers and radiological investigations

7     Cognitive Behavioral Therapy versus Steroids for optimizing the conventional therapy of chronic spontaneous urticaria: a single blinded, factorial randomized controlled trial - CoBeTS trial

Completed IADVL funded projects:

8     Clinical relevance of thiopurine methyl transferase genotype and phenotype testing for azathioprine in dermatology

9     Quantification of levels of biotin and copper in serum and hair samples of women with chronic telogen effluvium

10   Periorbital pigmentation and insulin resistance: Are they related?

PG dissertation Ongoing

1      Clinical, dermoscopic and histopathological study of patchy pigmentation of lower leg

2     Randomised controlled study of efficacy of NCORSHFS (non cultured extracted outer root sheath hair follicle cellular suspension) versus NCES (non cultured epidermal suspension) in stable vitiligo

3     Spectrum of soft tissue vascular malformations presenting to the Dermatology outpatient department of a tertiary care centre – A clinical and investigative study.

4     Validation of combined belief about medication and surgery questionnaire for assessment of therapy related beliefs in patients with vitiligo

5     Terbinafine resistance among cases of moderate to severe dermatophytosis: A prospective observational study

6     Effectiveness of a quality improvement intervention to reduce health care associated skin and soft tissue infections in a dermatology inpatient ward using Plan -do-study-act (PDSA) cycle

7     A longitudinal follow up of assessment of hair DIF and desmogelin titres in pemphigus patients in clinical remission

8     Trichomycosis axillaris: A clinico-etiological study

9     A comparative study of the clinical and microbiological characteristics of skin and soft tissue infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus between health care workers and non-health care workers.

10   Utility of infrared thermography in differentiating moderate to severe cellulitis from necrotizing fasciitis-A pilot study

11   The study on normal hair follicle histology from scalp biopsy in south Indian ethnicity

12   Clinical characterization and patch testing in patients with allergic contact   dermatitis to suspected products brought by the patients.

13   Effectiveness of yoga therapy as an adjunctive to H1 antihistamines in the management of chronic spontaneous urticaria: A randomized controlled open label trial.

14   Clinico-investigative study of Henoch Schonlein Purpura and its epidemiological correlates with special relevance to Helicobacter pylori infection among patients attending a tertiary care centre in South India.

15   Onychomycosis : Etiology, Antifungal susceptibility and Treatment response in finger nail onychomycosis is a tertiary care centre

16   Comparison of efficacy of Autologous Platelet rich plasma therapy versus minoxidil  5 percent in males with androgenetic alopecia:randomized open label trial with blinded outcome assessment

17   In vitro detection of suspected drug in maculopapular drug reaction to antibiotics using secreted cytokines from drug-specific activated T cells

Completed

18   Development and pilot testing of a composite scoring system for Chronic Hand Eczema

19   Microbiological profile , antifungal sensitivity and associated risk factors in those with single versus multiple episodes of genital candidiasis

20   Microbiological profile , antifungal sensitivity and associated risk factors in those with single versus multiple episodes of genital candidiasis

21   Clinical characterization and patch testing in children with foot eczema

22   Cardiometabolic risk factors and metabolic syndrome among children with acanthosis nigricans attending a Pediatric Dermatology Clinic

23   Insect bite like reaction (IBLR)in patients with hematologic malignancy: A clinical, histopathological and immunopathological study

24   Determining the Minimal clinical important difference  of the Pemphigus Disease Area Index and investigating the validity, reliability and responsiveness to change in tamil population

25   Therapeutic outcome of DPCP and its correlation with lesional immune cell subtypes and serum cytokine profile in alopecia areata – a pilot study

26   Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) expression and disease activity in patients with pemphigus vulgaris

27   Clinico-pathological study of patients with lichen planus pigmentosus

28   Microbiology profile antifungal sensitivity and associated risk factors in those with

single versus multiple episodes of genital candidiasis

29   Comparison of Modified Melasma Area and Severity Index (mMASI) scores between low-fluence Q-switched Nd:YAG laser versus 35% glycolic acid peels for melasma: a randomised controlled trial

30   Methotrexate with standard dose of cetirizine versus updosing of cetirizine in H1 anti-histamine resistant chronic spontaneous urticaria: An open label study

31   Anal cytology and human papilloma virus testing for screening of anal intraepithelial neoplasia among men having sex with men attending a designated Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) clinic in South India

32   Immunologic prediction of relapse in patients with pemphigus vulgaris in clinical remission

33   Effectiveness of bleach bath and routine hygienic measures versus routine hygienic measures alone in preventing recurrence of pyoderma in children aged ≤ 14 years: A randomized controlled open label trial

34   Dermatological manifestations of systemic hematological malignancies and its treatment

35   Clinical characterization and relevance of patch test, prick test and sensitization to malassezia species in patients with adult onset atopic dermatitis

36   Prevalence and patterns of latex allergy among health care workers in a tertiary care centre in South India

37   Merkel cell density and touch dome in vitiligo.

38   Muco-cutaneous manifestations in patients with lupus – a cross-sectional study

39   Cutaneous manifestations of advanced stage of chronic kidney disease.

40   Mucocutaneous adverse reactions of cancer chemotherapy and chemo radiation.

41   Long pulsed Nd: YAG laser Vs intense pulsed light for removal of unwanted facial hair: a randomized control trial.

42   Utility of dermascan in assessing the response to CO2 laser resurfacing for atrophic scars.