Our Mission
To create and advance meaningful knowledge of the skin and its disorders through exemplary patient care and excellence in education and research at the provincial, national, and international levels.
Our Vision
We aspire to be an internationally recognized leader in Dermatology and Cutaneous Sciences to the benefit of individuals and communities in British Columbia and beyond.
Our Values
In carrying out our mission and realizing our vision, we will value:
- respect for the dignity of our patients, students, and colleagues;
- the efforts and achievements of all our members;
- integrity, innovation and intellectual curiosity;
- the pursuit of excellence.
Strategic Directions
- Be responsive to the community needs of BC
- Promote and create meaningful opportunities in education and research for faculty members at all levels to facilitate professional and personal fulfillment
- Promote excellence and international recognition in patient care, education, and research
- Promote and communicate research activities within and beyond the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science
- Capitalize on new learning technologies
The Department of Dermatology and Skin Science provides the most extensive undergraduate medical dermatology teaching and the broadest range of postgraduate training opportunities in Canada. Our faculty members have world-class standing in their fields, and not only perform cutting-edge research, but are actively teaching and providing front-line care to patients with skin problems ranging from common to unusual and complicated. Our faculty members are practicing physicians who understand the full gamut of skin care issues in the community, all of whom have the technical and academic training to develop the important questions for students and guide them in answering those questions. Through our research, our faculty takes the new knowledge they create on a daily basis and apply it back to the patients they see. The Department of Dermatology and Skin Science represents a unique environment where care, teaching, and research are unified to serve patient and student alike.
The Department has national and international strengths in skin cancer, hair biology, dermatologic surgery, photodermatology, immunology, dermatopathology, and genomics, with independent research laboratories dedicated to each area. We are primarily represented at several teaching facilities including:
- Vancouver General Hospital
- St. Paul’s Hospital
- BC Cancer Agency
- BC Children’s Hospital
- Island Medical Program (Victoria)
- Northern Medical Program (Prince George)
We provide exemplary clinical care at these locations through creating and disseminating new knowledge about the skin and its diseases. The academic hub of the Department is served by The Skin Care Centre – B.C.’s Centre for Dermatologic Science, which is our main teaching and treatment facility.
The Measure of Our Success
- The quality and scope of our care
- The excellence of our teaching
- Award winning faculty and medical trainees across all areas. Award winning faculty and medical trainees across all areas. A full list of recent Teaching Honours and Awards is online.
- Faculty are constantly being invited to speak at all the major local, national, and international conferences
- The results of our research
- Publishing 50+ papers in international journals every year. For a list of current and past publications from the last six years, please see our Publications and Reports section.
- Sponsorship of our research through respected and peer-reviewed grants. Sponsorship of our research through respected and peer-reviewed grants. Our Research Sponsors are invaluable partners in our success.