Director and Senior Leadership

The P30 Skin Biology Resource Center is led by Bogi Andersen, M.D., overall PD/PI for the P30 Resource Center. He is a professor of medicine and biological chemistry, and has been with UC Irvine since 2001. With over 25 years of experience in the skin biology field, Dr. Andersen has been continuously funded by NIAMS since 1996.

Dr. Andersen is a physician-scientist, with clinical expertise in endocrinology where he serves as the program director for the clinical fellowship program in endocrinology, metabolism and diabetes. He is also a program leader in human genomics in UC Irvine’s Institute for Genomics and Bioinformatics. In part through Dr. Andersen’s leadership in skin biology, several very successful junior faculty members in skin biology have been recruited to UC Irvine.

Dr. Andersen’s work focuses on transcriptional regulation of epidermal differentiation and repair of epidermal injury, as well as the role of the circadian clock in skin. He was one of the first investigators to identify epidermal transcription factors and use genetic methods to study their function. Dr. Andersen uses genomics and computational approaches extensively in his work, and collaborates extensively with experts in imaging and computation.

The associate director of the Skin Biology Resource Center is Dr. Arthur Lander, MD, PhD. He is an experimental biologist who was drawn into the systems biology of development and stem cell biology through interactions with various members of the Skin P30, including John Lowengrub, Qing Nie, and others.

He has served since 2001 as the director of the UC Irvine Center for Complex Biological Systems (CCBS) and as PI on the NIH/NIGMS center grant that supported CCBS from 2007-2018. He also serves as one of the three principal investigators on UC Irvine’s Cancer Systems Biology Center grant, as a co-PI of the NSF/Simons Center for Multiscale Cell Fate Research, and as co-director of a training grant that supports students in the Mathematical, Computational and Systems Biology graduate program.

His research uses modeling and computational approaches to address topics in pattern formation, growth control, morphogenesis and complex genetics. 

The associate director of the Skin Biology Resource Center is Dr. Anand Ganesan, MD, PhD. Ganesan is a Professor of Dermatology and Biological Chemistry, the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Dermatology, and Associate Dean for Physician Scientist Development in the School of Medicine. He has been with UC Irvine since 2006. With 20 years of experience in the skin biology field, Ganesan has been continuously funded by NIAMS since 2008. Ganesan is a practicing physician-scientist with clinical expertise in dermatology. He has served in leadership positions in translational research and education at UC Irvine. Ganesan’s leadership in the Department of Dermatology led to the establishment of a physician-scientist training program in the department.

He is the co-director (with Andersen) of the NIAMS-funded T32 training program in Interdisciplinary Skin Research. Ganesan’s work focuses on signaling networks that regulate melanogenesis and melanocyte transformation and on the development of new imaging devices to characterize melanocyte disorders in human skin.

He has mentored multiple trainees, including undergraduates, graduate students (he has trained 6 Ph.D. students since joining UC Irvine), postdoctoral fellows, and physician-scientists. His broad expertise in skin biology and clinical dermatology, history of translational research, experience in clinical trials, training record, and administrative experiences.

Given his dual focus in the lab and in the clinic, he has transitioned to MPI to help assist investigators with translating their work to the clinic. He has a broader role of developing physician-scientists, and has had recent success in developing dermatology physician-scientists. Over the next five years, he will continue to infuse a translational perspective into projects developed within the Skin center.

Chaired by Center Director Andersen, the executive committee includes the center associate director and each of the resource core directors and associate directors. The executive committee meets quarterly to review core activities and discuss the overall operations of the center. Ad hoc meetings of the executive committee are also convened on an as-needed basis. With input from the executive committees, the director and associate director work to fulfill the goals of the center and exert leadership in skin biology at UC Irvine to promote increased resources and faculty recruitment in skin biology and disease.

Advisory Committee

The Advisory Committee provides scientific and administrative oversight and guidance to the Center’s leadership. It will assist the Director, Associate Directors, and Resource Core Directors to regularly evaluate progress and optimize strategies to reach the Center’s goals. The Advisory Committee members are:

• Aileen Anderson, Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Anatomy & Neurobiology, and Director of the UC Irvine Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. Her work focuses on stem cell biology and translational work in spinal cord injury and neurodegenerative disease. As the Director of the UCI Stem Cell Research Center, Dr. Anderson has extensive experience in program building, the organization and running of research cores, outreach activities, and fund raising.
• Cheng-Ming Chuong, Professor of Pathology, University of Southern California, will continue to serve on the Advisory Committee. Dr. Chuong is an accomplished skin biologist with a history of innovative research and a member of the Center skin biology community. He brings an important perspective to the Advisory Committee, ensuring that Core services are user-friendly for outside members and that the Center evolves with the changing needs and opportunities in the skin field.
• Peter Donovan,Professor of Developmental & Cell Biology and Biological Chemistry, will continue to serve on the Advisory Committee. Dr. Donovan, a stem cell biologist, is not a member of the Center research community but brings highly desirable qualities to the Advisory Committee, having previously founded and directed UC Irvine’s Stem Cell Research Center where he obtained funding for and constructed a large Center with highly functioning cores and robust outreach and enrichment programs.
• Kristen Kelly, Professor and Chair of Dermatology. Dr. Kelly will continue to provide an important perspective to the Advisory Committee, helping ensure that the research focus of the Department and the Center align. She will facilitate the recruitment of additional skin biologists and clinician-scientists who will further enhance skin research and infrastructure at UC Irvine. Dr. Andersen and Kelly will continue to have monthly meetings as they have done in the first cycle.
• Diane O’Dowd, HHMI Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology and Vice Provost for Academic Personnel. Her work has focused on neural circuits, using Drosophila and mouse models. As an HHMI Professor, she has developed new ideas for teaching, mentoring, and science education. As a Vice Provost, she has deep and broad knowledge of the University of California.
• Marian Waterman, Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Deputy Director of the UC Irvine Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her work focuses on Wnt signaling in the intestine and colon cancer. As the former Co-Director for the Center for Cancer Systems Biology, former Director of the UCI Irvine Cancer Research Institute, and the current Deputy Director of the Cancer Center, Dr. Waterman brings ample experience in program development and operation of P30 centers.