Using a combination of sequencing techniques, researchers from NIAMS and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) surveyed the skin microbiome of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD, also called eczema) to understand the genetic diversity of the bacteria present on the skin and how genetic variants may contribute to disease severity.

Researchers at the NIH and their colleagues have identified genomic variants that cause a rare and severe inflammatory skin disorder, known as disabling pansclerotic morphea, and have found a potential treatment.

New techniques are enabling scientists to understand where certain cells are with respect to one another and how changes in their activity may affect your overall health. In one recent example of the power of this approach, NIH-funded researchers used a sophisticated method to map immune cells within human skin to get a more detailed picture of psoriasis.

Many cellular and molecular changes have been identified in the skin of people with psoriasis. But it’s not known how the various immune cells involved are distributed within the skin and how these differ between healthy and diseased skin, or whether they differ in psoriatic arthritis. To find out, an NIH-funded research team led by Drs. Jose U. Scher and Shruti Naik at NYU Langone Health used a technique called spatial transcriptomics.

On April 24 and 25, 2023, NIAMS Extramural program staff, Institute leadership, and other members attended the first scientific planning retreat under Dr. Criswell’s leadership. How to support science - How to use NIAMS funds for greatest impact? Learn from successes. How to better support investigators? What are NIAMS values and its reputation?

An international team of researchers funded in part by NIAMS sought to understand why skin nevi grow long hair. The team determined that senescent melanocytes within nevi produce large quantities of several signaling molecules. One such molecule, called osteopontin, causes dormant hair stem cells to wake up, which increases hair growth.