Tiffany Scharschmidt, MD
I am a dermatologist, microbiologist, and immunologist and currently serve as an Associate Professor of Dermatology. I dedicate 80% of my time to research and the remaining time taking care of patients with severe inflammatory skin diseases. The central focus of my laboratory is to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate interactions between bacteria and the developing immune system, with a long-term goal of developing new therapeutic approaches based on this knowledge. Work in my lab leverages access to human samples, including human skin and blood, as well as corresponding microbiome samples to dissect the role of host-microbe crosstalk in normal cutaneous immune development and inflammatory skin disease. We also employ a reductionist approach, utilizing sophisticated immunological and microbiological tools in murine models to ask fundamental questions about mechanisms mediating the innate and adaptive immune responses to bacteria in early life.