Joseph F. Merola, MD, MMSc, is Chair of the Department of Dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he is Professor of Dermatology, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, and Professor in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health. He holds the Mary Kay Distinguished Chair in Dermatology. Board-certified in Dermatology, Internal Medicine, and Rheumatology, Dr. Merola is one of a small number of physicians nationally whose training spans these three disciplines, shaping his career at the intersection of inflammatory skin disease, systemic autoimmune disease, and musculoskeletal medicine. 

Dr. Merola is an internationally recognized clinician-scientist with expertise in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, connective tissue diseases including cutaneous lupus and dermatomyositis, atopic dermatitis, and complex medical dermatology. His work has focused on improving care for patients whose diseases bridge dermatology, rheumatology, and immunology, with contributions in multidisciplinary care models, clinical trial design, therapeutic development, outcome measures, epidemiology, guidelines, and patient-centered definitions of disease activity, remission, and treatment response. 

Prior to joining UT Southwestern as Chair in 2023, Dr. Merola was Vice Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology and the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. There, he served as Vice Chair for Clinical Trials and Innovation, Founding Director of the Clinical Unit for Research Innovation and Trials, Director of the Center for Skin and Related Musculoskeletal Diseases, and Associate Program Director of the Harvard Combined Internal Medicine-Dermatology Residency Training Program. 

Dr. Merola earned his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and his Master of Medical Sciences degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed internship training in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Dermatology residency at New York University Medical Center, where he served as chief resident, followed by Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. 

A major theme of Dr. Merola’s career has been building bridges across specialties to improve the recognition and management of systemic disease in dermatology and skin disease in rheumatology. Through clinical programs, research networks, educational initiatives, and international society leadership, he has helped shape the field of rheumatology-dermatology and advance collaborative approaches for psoriatic disease, lupus, dermatomyositis, eczema, and other inflammatory disorders. 

Dr. Merola has held numerous national and international leadership roles across dermatology, rheumatology, and inflammatory disease. He was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Dermatology and is the Founding President of the Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network Consortium. He serves on the Scientific and Medical Boards of the National Psoriasis Foundation, the Board of the International Dermatology Outcome Measures Group, the Board of the American Skin Association, and the Medical and Scientific Board of the Lupus Foundation of America. He serves as the President of the Rheumatologic Dermatology Society, Co-President of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, and as a councilor for the International Eczema Council and International Psoriasis Council. He is the Past President of the Medical Dermatology Society. He has also served on multiple guideline committees, including for the American Academy of Dermatology and the American College of Rheumatology. 

Dr. Merola has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, The Lancet, Nature Medicine, JAMA Dermatology, and the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. He has received numerous awards recognizing his contributions to research, education, mentorship, clinical care, and leadership, including the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Outstanding Educator Award, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Distinguished Clinician Award, the Mass General Brigham Pillar Award in Research Leadership, and the American Skin Association Lifetime Achievement Award for Research Leadership. He was named one of Boston’s Top Doctors annually for nearly a decade, was honored at the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Commit to a Cure Gala in Dallas in 2024.  In 2026 he was elected to the Association of American Physicians.

As Chair of Dermatology at UT Southwestern, Dr. Merola is committed to supporting the department’s faculty, researchers, trainees, and staff while advancing a patient-centered mission across clinical care, education, discovery, and innovation. Under his leadership, the Department of Dermatology continues to expand its national impact as a collaborative, academically rigorous, and forward-looking program dedicated to improving patients’ lives through compassionate care, scientific discovery, and exceptional training.