Dermatology chair receives accolade as Physician of the Year

Richard L. Edelson, M.D., chair and Aaron and Marguerite Lerner Professor of Dermatology, has been named one of three National Physicians of the Year by a committee of medical peers. The committee, assembled by the firm Castle Connolly Medical, chose Edelson from among 150 nominees for the award.

Edelson has served as chair of the Department of Dermatology since 1986, when he came to Yale from Columbia University’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he was head of the Immunology Group. His major research interests include the immunology of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, autoimmune disorders, epidermal T-cell interactions, and extracorporeal photochemotherapy.

At the School of Medicine, Edelson has served as director of Yale Cancer Center (YCC), director of YCC’s Lymphoma Research Program, and as deputy dean for clinical affairs. He is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. Edelson received his M.D. from Yale School of Medicine in 1970 and completed his internship in internal medicine at the University of Chicago and residency in dermatology at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Castle Connolly Medical is best known as the firm that publishes the “Top Doctors” series of books and as the producer of the Top Doctors database that appears on the website of U.S. News and World Report. The organization, whose mission is “to help consumers find the best healthcare in America,” was founded in 1991.