Why, but why, but why? Dedee Murrell on her life in dermatology and the need to be curious

Gina Furnival. Today, we’re heading over to Australia to speak with the incredible Professor Dedee Murrell, Head of Dermatology at Saint George Hospital, University of New South Wales in Sydney.

With a career that spans continents, Dedee has made a lasting impact on the field of blistering diseases and has been a leading advocate for women in dermatology. In this episode, we’ll be exploring her journey—from pioneering new therapies for some of dermatology’s rarest and most underserved conditions to the experiences and mindset that have shaped her success. We’ll also be hearing her advice on career advancement and how she stays at the very forefront of medical innovation.

Hello, Dedee, and welcome to our Visionary Voices podcast. How are you today?

Dedee Murrell: I’m good. It’s evening here in Sydney.

Gina Furnival: Well, good evening! I thought we’d start right at the beginning. Some might know, and some with very great hearing might have picked up from your accent, that you’re based in Sydney, Australia, but you were born and bred in the UK. Growing up in the UK, were there any moments, people, or experiences that really sparked your interest in medicine?

Dedee Murrell: I have one medic in my family—my mother. She was a local GP for over 30 years in Bradford.

Gina Furnival: So you definitely followed in her footsteps then?

Dedee Murrell: I wasn’t intending to. I thought I wanted to be a teacher like my grandma, but I remember sneaking peeks at my mother’s books when I was little. I was always drawn to the pictures.

Gina Furnival: Well, you certainly followed that interest. You did your medical training at Cambridge and Oxford, and after that, you decided to take a residency in dermatology. Interestingly, you chose not to do that in the UK, but to move over to the US.

Dedee Murrell: I did.

Gina Furnival: Before we look at your move to the US, what really drove you into the field of dermatology?

Dedee Murrell: I went to Oxford and had amazing experiences. I loved nearly every clinical rotation. When I got to dermatology, I didn’t realize how much visual things appealed to me until later. But I think it was that—I just loved being able to see the diseases I was dealing with.

Gina Furnival: So why the US then? What made you leave the UK?

Dedee Murrell: I was going to medical school interviews at 16 and finished A-levels at 17. I had limited life experience outside home, so I decided to take a gap year and applied for a number of scholarships. One I won was the English-Speaking Union scholarship. I deferred Cambridge for a year and went to a prep school in Connecticut. It was life-changing—I made amazing friends. Then every summer, I found an excuse to go back. The weather didn’t rain, and it wasn’t cold like the North of England.

Gina Furnival: I can see the attraction! So you definitely got the bug for the US because you stayed there, didn’t you? Where did you go after your residency?

Dedee Murrell: The plan was to be in America, but I met an Australian Rhodes Scholar at Oxford who wanted to become a surgeon. He got offered a residency at Duke. Luckily for me, I had two wonderful female mentors—Sue Burge and Fenella Wojnarowska—who had connections at Duke and Chapel Hill. They inspired and helped me. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I managed to do.

Gina Furnival: And this is where you really got into dermatopathology. How did those positions shape your clinical and research career?

Dedee Murrell: At Chapel Hill, one of the few programs in the US allowed a resident to focus on research for a year. I was able to do something very specialized in autoimmune blistering diseases. I learned all sorts of things that had previously scared me.

Gina Furnival: You mentioned blistering diseases. For those who may not be familiar, could you give a brief description?

Dedee Murrell: There are autoimmune and genetic blistering diseases. Kids born with the genetic ones often used to die young. Now many live into adulthood. Autoimmune diseases are more common later in life—your body develops an immune response against adhesion proteins in your skin and mucous membranes, so the skin falls apart or is destroyed.

Gina Furnival: So what interested you most about blistering diseases?

Dedee Murrell: The science. It was ahead of many other areas in dermatology, which was still very “cookbook” at the time—try this, try that, with little understanding of disease pathogenesis. I was drawn to the science first, then to the clinical application.

Gina Furnival: After your time in New York, you took an extraordinary leap and emigrated to Sydney. What inspired you to make that move?

Dedee Murrell: It was a tough decision. I was having a great time at Rockefeller University, working with Jim Krueger. But my husband was being headhunted, and his sister in Sydney saw an ad for a Professor of Orthopaedics at Saint George Hospital. He applied, thinking he owed it to the Rhodes Committee. I told him I wouldn’t move unless there was something academic for me. The hospital said, “Oh yes, we’re expanding.”

Gina Furnival: Indeed they were! And when you joined, you became the first full female Professor of Dermatology in Australia—an incredible achievement.

Dedee Murrell: Thank you. That came later—I arrived in 1995 and became a Professor in 2008. I had to redo training for two years and start back as a lecturer. There was no startup funding—just a salary.

Gina Furnival: Over thirty years there, you’ve made incredible contributions—an adult and paediatric dermatology clinic, a dedicated clinical trial centre, and a lab on blistering diseases. Which one are you most proud of?

Dedee Murrell: The clinical trial centre. I’d seen what was possible in the US, and I wanted to bring that to Australia. It took several attempts, but eventually I followed Elise Olsen’s model—off-site, with full responsibility for staff and budget. Now we do trials for psoriasis, eczema, alopecia, vitiligo—all while teaching young dermatologists. I’m also proud of the EB lab. That came from a call for help and led to diagnostics, classification, gene discovery, a registry, and national dressing schemes.

Gina Furnival: And what were the biggest challenges in setting these up?

Dedee Murrell: Lack of infrastructure. Public hospitals in Australia don’t fund dermatology well. Most dermatologists do private practice. It’s hard to get grants unless you’re researching skin cancer. I had to be creative—set up a charity and a trial centre to fund the research I cared about.

Gina Furnival: You’re basically running a business! Let’s talk about your research. You’re internationally relied on for developing definitions and outcome measures. Why are these so important?

Dedee Murrell: When you run a clinical trial, you need a way to measure disease severity and improvement. In blistering diseases, we had no scores. Psoriasis had PASI, eczema had EASI. But we had nothing. So with Vicky Werth at the University of Pennsylvania, we gathered the few clinicians who cared. Now everyone sees the value.

Gina Furnival: I started in patient-reported outcomes myself. What tools did you develop?

Dedee Murrell: The PDAI (Pemphigus Disease Area Index), BPDAI (for bullous pemphigoid), the AIBD-QoL for autoimmune blistering disease, QOLEB for EB, and the EBDASI severity score. They’ve been used globally and hold up well against other dermatology scores.

Gina Furnival: Without them, many drugs wouldn’t get developed. You’ve also set up a charity and society—you’re president of the Australian Blistering Diseases Foundation. What’s its mission?

Dedee Murrell: We started in 2006 with Linda Martin. No money at first—just fundraising and events. We focus on supporting research, not just experiences. DEBRA does great work globally, and we’ve contributed to that too, but our focus is problem-solving and funding rare disease research.

Gina Furnival: Where do you feel your work has had the greatest impact?

Dedee Murrell: In autoimmune diseases, the outcome measures are already being used. In EB, we’re starting to see gene therapy and systemic treatments. The scores we developed are helping shape that direction.

Gina Furnival: You’ve received many awards, including the MDS Lifetime Achievement Award. What did that mean to you?

Dedee Murrell: I was overwhelmed. The MDS is an incredible society, and past winners are people I admire. Most had careers in the US. It was amazing to be recognised.

Gina Furnival: And you received the International Pioneer Award from the Women’s Dermatology Society. What inspired your advocacy?

Dedee Murrell: At Oxford, I rarely saw women in leadership roles. Only two women in dermatology, one in paediatric cardiology. Subconsciously, that influenced me. When I discovered the Women’s Dermatology Society in the US, it felt like finding big sisters who wanted to help. I’ve loved being part of it.

Gina Furnival: Have you seen things change?

Dedee Murrell: Hugely. There are more women in training now, though in Australia there’s still room for progress.

Gina Furnival: You’ve mentored so many, including international trainees. Why the global focus?

Dedee Murrell: I love learning from other cultures. I’m a global citizen. People like me seek international opportunities—and it’s stimulating for everyone involved.

Gina Furnival: What advice would you give to someone seeking a mentor?

Dedee Murrell: Join societies, submit to conferences, apply for scholarships. Volunteer. Review articles. Do things on time and well. Editors will notice.

Gina Furnival: And what makes a great mentor-mentee relationship?

Dedee Murrell: Shared interests help. Open-mindedness is key. It doesn’t matter if your mentor is exactly like you, but some overlap really helps.

Gina Furnival: Let’s stay on advice. Do you think travel has been key to your success?

Dedee Murrell: Absolutely. It opens doors, creates networks, and lets you collaborate. I was lucky email came along when I moved to Australia—it changed everything.

Gina Furnival: How have you stayed innovative?

Dedee Murrell: Curiosity. I’ve always asked “why?” I love reading, learning, listening to podcasts—just staying curious.

Gina Furnival: And for someone just starting out?

Dedee Murrell: Dermatology has room for everyone—cosmetics, research, teaching, pathology. Whatever your interest, there’s a place for you.

Gina Furnival: Where do you see dermatology and blistering diseases going in the next 5–10 years?

Dedee Murrell: It’s about to explode. Once one biologic is approved, the path opens for more. The scores and pathways are there now. It’s exciting.

Gina Furnival: And what are your ambitions?

Dedee Murrell: I’d love to keep doing studies, volunteer more abroad, and give back. I’ll still be busy!

Gina Furnival: No sign of slowing down! And it’s great to hear about the advances in EB—life-changing treatments on the way.

Dedee Murrell: Yes. Two treatments have been FDA and EMA approved. One’s a gene therapy gel—it restored eyesight in an EB patient. It’s very exciting.

Gina Furnival: That’s it for today. Thanks so much for joining us, Dedee.

Dedee Murrell: Thank you, Gina. I really appreciate the interest and the opportunity. Lovely to meet you.

Gina Furnival: And to our listeners—if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, please subscribe. You can now find us on Spotify, Amazon, and very soon, Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening, and see you again soon!