In This Section

Two Legends in the Field of Dermatology Provide $1 Million Gift to Temple University School of Medicine's Department of Dermatology

News June 05, 2015

Two Legends in the Field of Dermatology Provide $1 Million Gift to Temple University School of Medicine's Department of Dermatology Two former faculty members and pioneers in the field of research dermatology have made a combined gift of $1 million to Temple University School of Medicine's (TUSM) Department of Dermatology.

Eugene Van Scott, MD, and Ruey Yu, PHD, OMD, have donated $500,000 each to create the Drs. Van Scott and Yu Fund for Dermatology. This endowed fund, the largest in the department, will go to supporting innovative clinical research, particularly by recruiting, developing and retaining emerging physician-scientists committed to that goal. It will be administered at the discretion of Gil Yosipovitch, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology at TUSM, and Director of the Temple Itch Center.

"In its own right, this will be a transformative gift to the Department of Dermatology," says Dr. Yosipovitch. "But to have it come from two giants in the field such as Drs. Van Scott and Yu gives it a special importance to us."

Drs. Van Scott and Yu joined Temple University in the late 1960s, back when the Department of Dermatology, along with the renowned Temple Skin and Cancer Hospital, was one of the region's leading centers for dermatological care. Van Scott, a former Scientific Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Yu, a research scientist specializing in biochemistry, became fast friends and research partners, and their working relationship – which has now lasted nearly 50 years – proved immediately and immensely fruitful.

Among their many groundbreaking discoveries, their work on psoriasis, led to the development of methotrexate, which is to this day the first-line drug for its treatment. They developed a nitrogen mustard treatment for a type of lymphoma that originates in skin cells, a discovery that led to Van Scott being award the highly prestigious Albert Lasker Clinical Medical Research Award in 1972 – one of the top prizes in scientific research. And, perhaps most famously, their work using organic acids from natural sources such as apples and oranges to treat ichthyosis led to their discovery and patenting of "alpha hydroxyacids" – a category of compounds that also has significant benefits in treating acne and in rejuvenating sun-damaged and aging skin. Alpha-hydroxies are now a fundamental component in a wide array of skin creams, spawning a multi-billion dollar market for dermatologically-based cosmetic products.

Stuart Lessin, MD (TUSM '82), a former director of dermatology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, says simply "I consider Gene Van Scott to be the Thomas Edison of American dermatology."

Both Van Scott and Yu left Temple in the late 80s, when the Skin and Cancer Hospital and dermatology department were closed for budgetary reasons. They founded a company based on their patents, NeoStrata Company, Inc., which today is a major skin care corporation. But the pair watched from afar as Temple hired Yosipovitch to re-establish the department in 2013, and have watched approvingly as Temple quickly began to reassert itself as a major center of dermatological research and care.

"He is a true physician-scientist," says Van Scott of Yosipovitch. "He is committed to research, but he also has very good ideas about clinical outreach that he’s putting into practice. He's doing it all the right way."

"Drs. Van Scott and Yu have done so much over their historic careers to advance the treatment of patients with different types of skin diseases and conditions," says Yosipovitch. "This gift will enable the next generation of investigators to build upon their legacy, and cement our place as a renewed center of clinical dermatological research."