Message From the Chair

The Department of Dermatology at the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University was one of the first dedicated academic units in the specialty established in New York City around the middle of the 19th century in midtown Manhattan. In 1911, the department was relocated to the Vanderbilt Clinic building at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center at 168th street and Broadway. Its faculty made numerous contributions to the development of dermatology including pioneering work in the early use of ionizing radiation, the treatment of syphilis, the expansion of basic knowledge in dermatological mycology including playing a major role in the discovery of the antifungal agent Nystatin. The department also helped to develop the concept of treating patients with pemphigus vulgaris with high dose corticosteroids. Subsequently the technique of photopheresis for cutaneous T cell lymphoma was developed in the department. In 1998, through the generosity of Herbert and Florence Irving, the department was renamed the Herbert Irving Center for Dermatology and Skin Cancer. It is now located on the 12th floor of the Herbert Irving Pavilion.