Murad Alam, MD, FAAD, Elected American Academy of Dermatology President for 2026

Chicago-based board-certified dermatologist Murad Alam, MD, FAAD, has been elected to lead the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). He will be installed as president-elect in March 2025 and hold the office of president for 1 year beginning in March 2026.

AAD is the world’s largest dermatologic society, representing more than 20,800 physicians who specialize in the diagnosis and medical, surgical, and cosmetic treatment of skin, hair, and nail conditions. Dr. Alam will also hold the same position for the American Academy of Dermatology Association, a sister organization to the AAD that focuses on government affairs, health policy, and practice information.

“I am honored and humbled to have been selected by my peers to lead the American Academy of Dermatology,” Dr. Alam said in an AAD news release. “Dermatologists and our physician colleagues face many challenges in continuing to provide quality patient care. I look forward to partnering with my fellow dermatologists, the public, other medical associations, and Congress to effectively address these challenges.”

Dr. Alam is vice chair of the Department of Dermatology and a professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. 

AAD also announced the results of its annual election. These officers and board members are all board-certified dermatologists and will also hold the same position for the American Academy of Dermatology Association.

Officers 

Larry Green, MD, FAAD, will be installed as vice president-elect in March 2025 and hold the office of vice president for 1 year beginning March 2026. Dr. Green is a clinical professor of dermatology at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He obtained his medical degree from New York Medical College and completed his dermatology residency at the University of California at Irvine. Dr. Green served on the AAD Board of Directors from 2019 – 2023 and previously chaired SkinPAC and the AAD’s State Policy Committee. He has also served as President of the Montgomery County Medical Society. 

Board members 

Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD, A. Shadi Kourosh, MD, MPH, FAAD, Seth L. Matarasso, MD, FAAD, and Joseph Merola, MD, MSc, FAAD, were elected to the Academy’s Board of Directors. They will each serve a 4-year term beginning in March 2025. Lindsay Ackerman, MD, FAAD, was elected to serve as the Nominating Committee Member Representative, effective immediately. 

Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD, is a professor of clinical dermatology at Weill Cornell University in New York City. Dr. Alexis obtained his medical degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his dermatology residency at Weill Cornell’s New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is currently an editorial board member for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Dr. Alexis has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Dermatological Association and as president of the New York Dermatological Society. He is the Immediate Past-President of the Skin of Color Society. 

A. Shadi Kourosh, MD, MPH, FAAD, is the director of community health in the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an associate professor at Harvard. Dr. Kourosh obtained her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, where she also completed her dermatology residency. She is a past editor-in-chief of the Academy’s Dialogues in Dermatology podcast. Dr. Kourosh chairs the AAD’s Ad Hoc Task Force on Dermatological Resources for the Intervention and Prevention of Human Trafficking. 

Seth L. Matarasso, MD, FAAD, is a clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California School of Medicine in San Francisco. Dr. Matarasso obtained his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and completed his dermatology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he also served as chief resident. He then completed a dermatologic surgery and Mohs chemosurgery fellowship at UCSF. He is the chair of the Academy’s Bylaws Committee. Dr. Matarasso has also served as president of the California Society of Dermatology and is the current president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. 

Joseph Merola, MD, MSc, FAAD, is the Chair of Dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and professor of dermatology, professor of medicine and rheumatology, and professor at the Peter O’Donnell Jr School of Public Health. He holds the Mary Kay Distinguished Chair in Dermatology. Dr. Merola is board-certified in dermatology, internal medicine, and rheumatology. Dr. Merola obtained his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine, where he also completed his dermatology residency and served as chief resident, and his Masters of Medical Sciences degree at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Merola also completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. 

Lindsay Ackerman, MD, FAAD, is chief of dermatology at the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix, and clinical associate professor of medicine for the University of Arizona, medical director of the US Dermatology Partners Clinical Research Institute, and president of Medical Dermatology Specialists in Phoenix. Dr. Ackerman obtained her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Ariz., and completed her dermatology residency at Tulane University in New Orleans, where she also served as chief resident. She followed this training with a fellowship in complex medical dermatology, also at Tulane.