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Dr. Elder received his M.D. and his Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, from Yale University. Dr. Elder completed an Internal Medicine Internship and Dermatology Residency at the University of Washington. He is board-certified in Dermatology. Following his residency, Dr. Elder completed a Senior Research Fellowship at the University of Michigan. In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Elder directs a large and active research laboratory at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Elder's laboratory utilizes tools of molecular biology and genetics to better understand several human skin diseases. Dr. Elder's lab is a world leader in the use of genetic linkage and association techniques to learn more about how the immune system activates the epidermal wound healing mechanism in psoriasis, and joint destruction in psoriatic arthritis. His current efforts in this area are focused on gene identification of PSORS1, a major susceptibility gene located in the major histocompatibility complex. His laboratory also has a long-standing interest in the role of the EGF receptor (also known as ErbB1) as an activation signal for epidermal wound healing and carcinogenesis. Active projects in this area include (I) the characterization of an autocrine activation loop involving ErbB1, ERK and Src family kinases; and (II) analysis of the mechanisms by which EGFR activation protects keratinocytes from programmed cell death (apoptosis). Finally, Dr. Elder's laboratory has also been active recently in identifying somatic mutations in melanocytic nevi and melanomas of varying degrees of progression.
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