Advancing Psoriatic Disease Research

The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) has a long history of working to advance research and expand health care provider, clinician, and researcher knowledge of psoriatic disease. In 1995, this culminated in the creation of Psoriasis Forum, a newsletter for professional members of NPF that touched on treatment recommendations, clinical observations, and research findings. Through the support of the founding editors, Alice Gottlieb, M.D., Ph.D., John Y. M. Koo, M.D., and Mark Lebwohl, M.D., Psoriasis Forum evolved into the peer-reviewed Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (JPPA), now published by SAGE.

The current JPPA Editor-in-Chief, Bruce Strober, M.D., Ph.D., was appointed in 2020. He has a doctorate in molecular biology and over 20 years of experience in clinical trials, with a focus on psoriasis. Dr. Strober explains that, though the audience of the journal is primarily clinicians, articles may still be of interest to those conducting research. Submissions to the journal should be related to either psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis (PsA), including related comorbidities.

“Submissions should be primarily clinical in focus, with higher quality translational research from both dermatology and rheumatology,” says Dr. Strober. He adds that although case reports and small case series from single institutions do not typically fall under the scope of the JPPA, “we are biased towards rigorous research studies that have greater generalizability and interest to the worldwide psoriatic disease audience.”

The goal of the journal is to provide readers with knowledge that advances their expertise through the publication of evidence-based research. “We’re amid a revolution in new therapies, including topicals, biologics, and oral agents, and studies on drugs both old and [in the] pipeline are highly valued. Submissions related to psoriasis/PsA epidemiology and comorbidities also are always welcome,” says Dr. Strober.

Along with Senior Editors Andrew Blauvelt, M.D., MBA, Megan H. Noe, M.D., MPH, MSCE, Mona Shahriari, M.D., FAAD, and Eingun James Song, M.D., FAAD, Dr. Strober aims to increase the reach and impact of JPPA, including to an international audience.

Dr. Strober notes that there are many exciting areas of focus within psoriatic disease research, such as “further understanding of psoriatic comorbidities, the advancement of novel therapeutics, including topicals, biologics and small molecule oral therapies, and a robust effort to determine pre-treatment markers for response to therapy (personalized medicine).”