As a visual specialty, dermatology has long relied on pattern recognition, a strength that has also shaped how it has been taught and practised. But Dr. Joseph notes that those patterns have historically reflected a narrower range of people than those seeking care. For example, physicians are taught to look for ‘redness’ as a key sign of inflammation, yet this isn’t always present in individuals with more richly pigmented skin tones.
Yet, Dr. Joseph sees her field and her new role as doing much more than advocating for better representation in textbooks and clinical guidelines.
“It’s about how disease is managed, how treatments are studied and how confident clinicians feel when they’re making decisions,” she says.
That focus extends into the design and delivery of clinical research itself. Joseph notes that many dermatologic treatments — particularly in rapidly advancing, immune-mediated conditions — were studied in populations that did not fully reflect the diversity of those now receiving them. As a result, questions around effectiveness, safety and real-world response have not always been answered equally for all people affected by skin conditions.
In her capacity as AbbVie Chair, Dr. Joseph will champion dermatologic research that intentionally includes diverse populations — not only to improve equity, but to strengthen the evidence base clinicians rely on when making treatment decisions. More representative trials, she says, lead to more precise, confident and effective care for everyone.
“Research drives practice,” she says. “If people aren’t meaningfully included in clinical trials, that gap follows them into the clinic.”
Her mandate also spans education and clinical translation. Serving in the AbbVie Chair role, Dr. Joseph will work to ensure future clinicians are trained to care for all skin tones with confidence, as well as support the adoption of new knowledge in everyday clinical practice.
Education, she says, is where the most transformative and lasting change can take hold.
“When trainees learn to assess skin disease across skin tones and understand the barriers patients face in accessing care, that knowledge stays with them for their entire careers,” Dr. Joseph says. “Education becomes a tool for healing.”
This educational work will also extend well beyond dermatology alone. In Canada, most skin conditions are assessed and treated by family physicians, pediatricians and emergency clinicians — making broad, accessible dermatologic education essential.
“Dermatologists represent a very small portion of the clinicians who see skin disease,” Dr. Joseph says. “If we want to change how care is delivered, we have to reach everyone involved — from undergraduate medical education through continuing professional development across specialties.”
In addition, outreach and partnership are central to the AbbVie Chair’s mandate. Dr. Joseph emphasizes the importance of working alongside communities and health-care providers to understand lived experience, build trust and ensure care is culturally safe.
“When medicine becomes more inclusive, it becomes more accurate,” she says. “And when patients feel seen and understood, they’re more likely to engage with care. Trust is not a soft outcome. It directly affects health.”
Dr. Joseph’s work will also be centred on accountability: setting meaningful goals, measuring progress and ensuring commitments to equity extend beyond moments of heightened attention.
“This can’t be performative,” she says. “If we’re serious about change, we have to be able to reflect back and ask what we’ve actually done and whether it’s made a difference.”
