We aim to achieve
skin health
for everyone,
in partnership
with patients
Skin problems are very common, with a profound, under-recognised impact on health and society. Our research at St John’s Institute of Dermatology looks at how and why skin disease develops and changes over time, so that we can improve the way we manage and treat these conditions across all ages and stages of life.
Our Research Themes
Skin inflammation
Our research includes psoriasis, eczema, vitiligo, and blistering conditions. We want to understand who is at risk, when, and how best to intervene.
To find out more about our studies involving children, please click here.
For our studies involving adults, we are currently recruiting people with psoriasis to the PLAN-psoriasis feasibility trial and to the mySkin study, palmoplantar pustulosis to the JAKPPPOT trial, and eczema to the BEACON trial.
If you would like to express interest in any of our upcoming trials for new therapies for these conditions, please contact us.
Skin cancer
Our research covers common and rare skin cancer including melanoma and lymphoma. An important approach is understanding how the immune system affects the development of skin cancer.
Our findings are used to develop new immunotherapies, which are treatments that help the immune system to fight cancer. These new therapies are then tested in clinical trials to ensure that are safe and effective.
We are currently running the MISST trial. If you would like to take part, please contact us.
Rare skin disease
Our rare disease research focuses on epidermolysis bullosa (skin blistering), ichthyosis (skin scaling), and ectodermal dysplasia (skin development) but also includes other rare genetic disorders that affect skin function.
We develop and test new forms of cell and gene therapy to treat genetic skin disorders, and also run clinical trials of these therapies in people with some forms of epidermolysis bullosa.
If you would like to find out more, please contact us.
Studies open to Recruitment
Collaborate
If you are a patient, carer, or member of the public, and are interested in helping us design and deliver our studies and share our findings, please contact us to find out how you can get involved as a Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) representative.
Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) in research is “research carried out ‘with’ or ‘by’ members of the public rather than ‘to’, ‘about’ or ‘for’ them”
At St Johns, we are keen to work in collaboration with patients, carers, and the public in the planning, designing, managing, conducting, dissemination and translation of our research.
PPI is important for a number of reasons, including:
Improving the quality and relevance of research, focusing on areas that patients consider to be important.
Helping to streamline research efforts, designing studies that participants are more likely to engage with.
Ensuring research findings are publicised in an effective and accessible way, ensuring the biggest impact to those who may benefit.
Ways in which PPI representatives have helped us on our studies
Feedback on study proposals and design
Reviewing participant-facing study documents and information
Sitting on study management committees
Advising on strategies for sharing our study findings with the public
Our discoveries
Upcoming events
DermAcademy is our provider of education events for patients and the public. Please see the button below for our upcoming events.
Protecting your data
We take your privacy seriously and are committed to protecting and safeguarding any personal data that we collect and process. You will always be fully informed of how we protect your data in the study-specific information leaflets, and in holding and processing your data we adhere to UK General Data Protection Regulation. More information about how we use your data can be found here.
About us
Our Institute was founded in 1868 in London from St John’s Hospital for Disease of the Skin. With over 60 researchers based within the Institute, our world-leading research efforts aim to improve skin health for everyone, focussing in particular on inflammatory skin conditions, skin cancer, and rare skin disease, across all ages and stages.
Our Partners
Our funding is from government bodies and charities.
Our Collaborators
Research is a team science. We work with collaborators across the UK and internationally. If you are a researcher or industry partner and would like to collaborate with any of our researchers, please contact the relevant member of our team directly.
