"Creating the future of dermatology"

Welcome to the Department of Dermatology at Keio University School of Medicine.

Our department’s mission is to raise sustainability leaders in patient care and in clinical and basic research in the fields of dermatology and immunology.

Dermatology at Keio University has over a 100-year history and I am the fifth professor and chair of this department after Professor Masao Sasagawa (1922 – 1932), Professor Katashi Yokoyama (1934 – 1960), Professor Hitoshi Hatano (1961 – 1980) and Professor Takeji Nishikawa (1982 – 2005).

Our department has the tradition of “strength in clinical practice and depth in research” built up by our predecessors. We run the department with our motto “創知育成”, meaning “create new knowledge and nurture people”, with an emphasis on diversity and communication.

In clinical dermatology, we value the policy of taking care of all skin-related diseases with a system for handling a wide range of skin diseases, including autoimmune blistering diseases, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, hereditary diseases, allergies and drug reactions, skin tumors and malignancies, hair loss, nail deformities, laser treatment, and cutaneous collagen diseases. On the ward, we cooperate with the other departments and medical sections to manage severe diseases such as pemphigus, pemphigoid and skin malignancies including melanoma. We perform 60-70 general anesthetic operations a year. We have more than 20 affiliated hospitals around the Tokyo capital area that work closely with our department.

In basic and clinical research, we have been constantly attempting to achieve high-impact contributions at an international level. Among many subjects of our department, we have been focusing on clarification of pathophysiological mechanisms of pemphigus and development of antigen-specific immune suppression using pemphigus as a paradigm of autoimmune diseases. We have been studying skin barriers and their failure in allergic disorders, including atopic dermatitis. We are also conducting several clinical studies and trials on new therapeutic protocols of skin malignancies. The close collaboration with Laboratory for Skin Homeostasis, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, where I play the role of team leader, allows us to unite clinical and basic science on autoimmune and allergic disorders.

I am excited by the amazing opportunities to discover and apply new advances to the care of our patients in a wonderful environment that trains the next generation of leaders in Dermatology. I thank our department members and alumni for their continuous dedicated effort and support to achieve our common goal.

Masayuki Amagai, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Dermatology, Keio University School of Medicine