In dermatology, we are fortunate to have many of our profession’s innovators and great teachers still among us. This column was created so that we may gain insight from these practitioners and learn more about them. Some are bright stars in our special universe — others unsung heroes. All of these colleagues have much to share from wisdom to humor to insights into dermatology and life. Dr. Diya Mutasim was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Arab parents. He attended medical school and obtained a 3-year dermatology residency at the American University in Beirut. From 1983 to 1990, he further completed 6 years of residency and fellowship training in immunodermatology at Johns Hopkins University. He has been practicing at the University of Cincinnati for the past 19 years (since 1990) and has been Chair for 10 years. His research career highlight was the discovery of the ultrastructural location of the bullous pemphigoid antigen in the hemidesmosome. He has authored more than 130 publications. He enjoys reading and listening to music and, most of all, spending time with his two boys. Q. Why did you choose dermatology? A. My decision to choose dermatology was not an intellectual one of which I was aware. Instead, it appeared to be an inevitable choice once I had a rotation in dermatology as a medical student. In retrospect, it likely was the visual nature of the field and the happy environment of the department in which I rotated. Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology? A. An understanding and appreciation for the humanities is essential in medicine in general, and in dermatology in particular. We take care of human beings and not states of disease. Our ultimate responsibility is to the “human being” in the patient. Q. If you had not become a dermatologist, what would you have liked to do? A. In a different world, I would have liked to be a psychiatrist. Outside of medicine, I could see myself being a teacher, horticulturist or writer. Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received, and from whom? A. The best piece of advice was given to me by Dr. Luis Diaz, who was my mentor at Johns Hopkins University during my laboratory research years. When I was negotiating for a job, he indicated that if I obtain 80% of what I believe I should, that I should accept it. He called it the 80% rule. Q. What medical figure from history would you most like to have a drink with? Why? A. Walter Lever. Dr. Lever had an immense commitment to the field of dermatopathology. He was highly disciplined and hardworking. His descriptions of pathology of skin diseases are unequalled. Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology? A. There are multiple dangers to the field of dermatology. They are not necessarily political in nature. They include: 1) fragmentation of the specialty into multiple groups, each of which is supporting its own constituency; 2) losing a major proportion of “medical dermatology,” either to other specialties or to select dermatologists in university settings; and 3) intrusion into how dermatologists should practice by regulations from health insurance companies. Dr. Barankin is a dermatologist based in Toronto, Canada. He is author-editor of five books in dermatology, and is widely published in the dermatology and humanities literature. He is also co-editor of Dermanities (dermanities.com), an online journal devoted to the humanities as they relate to dermatology.
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SPOTLIGHT on Diya Mutasim, MD
In dermatology, we are fortunate to have many of our profession’s innovators and great teachers still among us. This column was created so that we may gain insight from these practitioners and learn more about them. Some are bright stars in our special universe — others unsung heroes. All of these colleagues have much to share from wisdom to humor to insights into dermatology and life. Dr. Diya Mutasim was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Arab parents. He attended medical school and obtained a 3-year dermatology residency at the American University in Beirut. From 1983 to 1990, he further completed 6 years of residency and fellowship training in immunodermatology at Johns Hopkins University. He has been practicing at the University of Cincinnati for the past 19 years (since 1990) and has been Chair for 10 years. His research career highlight was the discovery of the ultrastructural location of the bullous pemphigoid antigen in the hemidesmosome. He has authored more than 130 publications. He enjoys reading and listening to music and, most of all, spending time with his two boys. Q. Why did you choose dermatology? A. My decision to choose dermatology was not an intellectual one of which I was aware. Instead, it appeared to be an inevitable choice once I had a rotation in dermatology as a medical student. In retrospect, it likely was the visual nature of the field and the happy environment of the department in which I rotated. Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology? A. An understanding and appreciation for the humanities is essential in medicine in general, and in dermatology in particular. We take care of human beings and not states of disease. Our ultimate responsibility is to the “human being” in the patient. Q. If you had not become a dermatologist, what would you have liked to do? A. In a different world, I would have liked to be a psychiatrist. Outside of medicine, I could see myself being a teacher, horticulturist or writer. Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received, and from whom? A. The best piece of advice was given to me by Dr. Luis Diaz, who was my mentor at Johns Hopkins University during my laboratory research years. When I was negotiating for a job, he indicated that if I obtain 80% of what I believe I should, that I should accept it. He called it the 80% rule. Q. What medical figure from history would you most like to have a drink with? Why? A. Walter Lever. Dr. Lever had an immense commitment to the field of dermatopathology. He was highly disciplined and hardworking. His descriptions of pathology of skin diseases are unequalled. Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology? A. There are multiple dangers to the field of dermatology. They are not necessarily political in nature. They include: 1) fragmentation of the specialty into multiple groups, each of which is supporting its own constituency; 2) losing a major proportion of “medical dermatology,” either to other specialties or to select dermatologists in university settings; and 3) intrusion into how dermatologists should practice by regulations from health insurance companies. Dr. Barankin is a dermatologist based in Toronto, Canada. He is author-editor of five books in dermatology, and is widely published in the dermatology and humanities literature. He is also co-editor of Dermanities (dermanities.com), an online journal devoted to the humanities as they relate to dermatology.
In dermatology, we are fortunate to have many of our profession’s innovators and great teachers still among us. This column was created so that we may gain insight from these practitioners and learn more about them. Some are bright stars in our special universe — others unsung heroes. All of these colleagues have much to share from wisdom to humor to insights into dermatology and life. Dr. Diya Mutasim was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Arab parents. He attended medical school and obtained a 3-year dermatology residency at the American University in Beirut. From 1983 to 1990, he further completed 6 years of residency and fellowship training in immunodermatology at Johns Hopkins University. He has been practicing at the University of Cincinnati for the past 19 years (since 1990) and has been Chair for 10 years. His research career highlight was the discovery of the ultrastructural location of the bullous pemphigoid antigen in the hemidesmosome. He has authored more than 130 publications. He enjoys reading and listening to music and, most of all, spending time with his two boys. Q. Why did you choose dermatology? A. My decision to choose dermatology was not an intellectual one of which I was aware. Instead, it appeared to be an inevitable choice once I had a rotation in dermatology as a medical student. In retrospect, it likely was the visual nature of the field and the happy environment of the department in which I rotated. Q. Are an understanding and appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology? A. An understanding and appreciation for the humanities is essential in medicine in general, and in dermatology in particular. We take care of human beings and not states of disease. Our ultimate responsibility is to the “human being” in the patient. Q. If you had not become a dermatologist, what would you have liked to do? A. In a different world, I would have liked to be a psychiatrist. Outside of medicine, I could see myself being a teacher, horticulturist or writer. Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received, and from whom? A. The best piece of advice was given to me by Dr. Luis Diaz, who was my mentor at Johns Hopkins University during my laboratory research years. When I was negotiating for a job, he indicated that if I obtain 80% of what I believe I should, that I should accept it. He called it the 80% rule. Q. What medical figure from history would you most like to have a drink with? Why? A. Walter Lever. Dr. Lever had an immense commitment to the field of dermatopathology. He was highly disciplined and hardworking. His descriptions of pathology of skin diseases are unequalled. Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology? A. There are multiple dangers to the field of dermatology. They are not necessarily political in nature. They include: 1) fragmentation of the specialty into multiple groups, each of which is supporting its own constituency; 2) losing a major proportion of “medical dermatology,” either to other specialties or to select dermatologists in university settings; and 3) intrusion into how dermatologists should practice by regulations from health insurance companies. Dr. Barankin is a dermatologist based in Toronto, Canada. He is author-editor of five books in dermatology, and is widely published in the dermatology and humanities literature. He is also co-editor of Dermanities (dermanities.com), an online journal devoted to the humanities as they relate to dermatology.
