Dr Porter reflects on the rapid development of new therapies for hidradenitis suppurativa, and her hopes for more personalized treatment in everyday practice.
Dr Martina Porter has long been a valued contributor to touchDERMATOLOGY, sharing key data on hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) with our readers over the past several years. It is this relationship we are now delighted to build on as we now officially welcome Dr Porter, and her expertise across HS and other inflammatory skin diseases, to the Editorial Board of our flagship journal, touchREVIEWS in Dermatology.
Dr Porter is the Vice Chair for Research and Academics in the Department of Dermatology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, MA, USA, and an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. She specializes in treating immune-mediated dermatologic conditions, including hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and skin disorders related to inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr Porter leads phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials in HS and is recognized as a global leader in the field. She also directs the Clinical Laboratory for Epidemiology and Applied Research in Skin (CLEARS) and co-leads the Pathogens, Immunology, and Inflammation Translational Research Hub at BIDMC. She also chairs the American Academy of Dermatology’s (AAD) Patient Safety and Quality Committee.
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To officially welcome Dr Porter to the Editorial Board and get to know her a little better, we invited her to reflect on what drew her to dermatology. She also shares the innovation she hopes to see brought into everyday practice, and the small things that brighten a busy working day.
What drew you to your specialty?
I think subconsciously it was the visual pattern recognition that is involved in dermatology. I was very obsessed with Tetris as a child, and even loved organic chemistry in college because of the patterns of reaction mechanisms.
When it came time to actually choose a medical specialty, I was always interested in skin findings being a clue for systemic disease.
What career experience has surprised you most?
I always tell this story: In 2017, I went around to all the industry booths and begged companies to let me trial their drugs in HS. At the time, I was told over and over again that HS was not of interest because it was too rare to warrant larger studies but to let them know if any of their approved drugs for other indications helped patients with HS.
Look where we are now. We have had such rapid development of new therapies for HS over the past six years, and I am very proud to be part of this.
If you could bring one innovation into everyday practice, what would it be?
I hope we get to the point where we can identify the best first-line treatment options for patients based on clinical clues, history, or yet to be discovered biomarkers.
What is one small thing that brightens a busy working day for you?
It is honestly the patients. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by everything that I am doing with research, mentoring, administrative tasks, and clinical care.
Then I have a patient who tells me something like, “You gave me my life back,” or “I did not realize that I did not have the will to live until you helped me get better.” That really reminds me why all of my work matters.
Cite: Championing advancements in hidradenitis suppurativa and beyond: Dr Martina Porter joins the touchDERMATOLOGY Editorial Board. touchDERMATOLOGY. August 12, 2026.
Disclosures: This content has been developed independently by Touch Medical Media for touchDERMATOLOGY in collaboration with Dr Porter. Views expressed are the speaker’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Touch Medical Media.
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