Joan Guitart, M.D., F.A.A.D.
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Dr. Joan Guitart is a Professor of Dermatology and Pathology, Director of the Dermatopathology Unit, Multidisciplinary Cutaneous Lymphoma Clinic and Co-Director of the NIH-funded Skin Disease Research Center Pathology Core.
Dr. Guitart's research and clinical interests are largely focused on cutaneous lymphomas ranging from epidemiology to clinical trials and pathology studies. Dr. Guitart is a leader in the field of cutaneous lymphomas. He organized in Chicago the First World Congress of Cutaneous Lymphomas and presently serve as President of the International Society of Cutaneous Lymphomas. Dr. Guitart's leadership roles in the field includes organizing large multi-center studies that resulted in refining and redefining our understanding of various lymphomas and precursor lesions. The group has published some of the largest series and most comprehensive studies related to folliculotropic cutaneous lymphomas, gamma-delta lymphomas, aggressive epidermotropic lymphomas and lymphomatoid papulosis among others. This work has resulted in his collaboration with WHO in redefining the classification of cutaneous lymphomas. Dr. Guitart also proposed defining criteria and description of numerous poorly understood conditions now unified under the rubric cutaneous T cell dyscrasias as a novel concept that includes conditions like parapsoriasis, follicular mucinosis and atypical lymphocytic lobular panniculitis. Dr. Guitart recently expanded his research scope by exploring the genomic landscape of cutaneous lymphomas. He already published on the largest subgroups of mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome and are presently working on the genomic aberrations of cytotoxic lymphomas. Dr. Guitart has also been very active in epidemiology aspects of cutaneous lymphomas. His group was one of the first ones to identify the high level of Staphylococcal colonization in mycosis fungoides and suggested decolonization as a key treatment intervention. Their hypothesis that SA fuels CTCL cells is presently being investigated by our group by exploring the microbiome of various CTCL subtypes. Other epidemiology studies from his team have identified the high incidence of GI tract pathology and autoimmunity in marginal zone lymphomas, androgenetic alopecia in follicular lymphomas and they are presently completing a large series of CD30 lymphoproliferative disorders with emphasis on defining the poorly characterized natural course of the disease and comorbidities of all lymphomatoid papulosis subtypes. Dr. Guitart is the current President of the International Society of Cutaneous Lymphomas and have also been the President of the Chicago Dermatological Society and Scientific Assembly Committee of the American Academy of Dermatology. |
