Dr. Thiers was born in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn College and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, where he remained for postgraduate training. He joined the faculty of the Department of Dermatology in Buffalo in 1979 and relocated with other members of the department to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston later that year.
He is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was associate editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) from 1988 to 1998, and in June 2008 Dr. Thiers will become the editor of the JAAD. He is currently editor of the Year Book of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery and consulting editor of Dermatologic Clinics. He was Vice President of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2005 and is a former member of the Board of Directors of that organization. His area of expertise is dermatologic therapeutics with a special interest in psoriasis and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Q. What are you most proud of in your personal life? Professional life?
A. I grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City. My father never made it past the eighth grade and worked as an elevator operator; my mother worked the night shift at the post office. They were both honest, hardworking people, but we lived a “no-frills” existence.
We did not receive any handouts, and anything I’ve accomplished in either my personal life or my professional life was through my own hard work and perseverance.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I remember interviewing for medical school at George Washington University, which at the time was (and perhaps still is) one of the most expensive medical schools in the country. I asked my interviewer what would happen if I couldn’t make a tuition payment, which was a serious concern for me. He replied, quite blandly, “You’d just have to drop out.”
One of my lifelong regrets is that I didn’t have the presence of mind to kick him in his family jewels.
Q. What is your favorite book? Film? And why?
A. I enjoyed The Bourne Identity and other Ludlum/Grisham books. For a film, it is a toss-up between Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Airplane and Pulp Fiction. Why? Escapism. My college fraternity was Animal House on steroids.
Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology?
A. I think it is the abandonment of medical and surgical dermatology by some of our colleagues who elect instead to open spas or other high-profit businesses.
This trivializes our specialty and gives insurance carriers ammunition to declare that all dermatologic complaints are cosmetic — and therefore should not be covered or reimbursed.
Dr. Thiers was born in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn College and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, where he remained for postgraduate training. He joined the faculty of the Department of Dermatology in Buffalo in 1979 and relocated with other members of the department to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston later that year.
He is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was associate editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) from 1988 to 1998, and in June 2008 Dr. Thiers will become the editor of the JAAD. He is currently editor of the Year Book of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery and consulting editor of Dermatologic Clinics. He was Vice President of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2005 and is a former member of the Board of Directors of that organization. His area of expertise is dermatologic therapeutics with a special interest in psoriasis and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Q. What are you most proud of in your personal life? Professional life?
A. I grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City. My father never made it past the eighth grade and worked as an elevator operator; my mother worked the night shift at the post office. They were both honest, hardworking people, but we lived a “no-frills” existence.
We did not receive any handouts, and anything I’ve accomplished in either my personal life or my professional life was through my own hard work and perseverance.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I remember interviewing for medical school at George Washington University, which at the time was (and perhaps still is) one of the most expensive medical schools in the country. I asked my interviewer what would happen if I couldn’t make a tuition payment, which was a serious concern for me. He replied, quite blandly, “You’d just have to drop out.”
One of my lifelong regrets is that I didn’t have the presence of mind to kick him in his family jewels.
Q. What is your favorite book? Film? And why?
A. I enjoyed The Bourne Identity and other Ludlum/Grisham books. For a film, it is a toss-up between Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Airplane and Pulp Fiction. Why? Escapism. My college fraternity was Animal House on steroids.
Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology?
A. I think it is the abandonment of medical and surgical dermatology by some of our colleagues who elect instead to open spas or other high-profit businesses.
This trivializes our specialty and gives insurance carriers ammunition to declare that all dermatologic complaints are cosmetic — and therefore should not be covered or reimbursed.
Dr. Thiers was born in New York City and graduated from Brooklyn College and the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine, where he remained for postgraduate training. He joined the faculty of the Department of Dermatology in Buffalo in 1979 and relocated with other members of the department to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston later that year.
He is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the Medical University of South Carolina. He was associate editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) from 1988 to 1998, and in June 2008 Dr. Thiers will become the editor of the JAAD. He is currently editor of the Year Book of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery and consulting editor of Dermatologic Clinics. He was Vice President of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2005 and is a former member of the Board of Directors of that organization. His area of expertise is dermatologic therapeutics with a special interest in psoriasis and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.
Q. What are you most proud of in your personal life? Professional life?
A. I grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in New York City. My father never made it past the eighth grade and worked as an elevator operator; my mother worked the night shift at the post office. They were both honest, hardworking people, but we lived a “no-frills” existence.
We did not receive any handouts, and anything I’ve accomplished in either my personal life or my professional life was through my own hard work and perseverance.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I remember interviewing for medical school at George Washington University, which at the time was (and perhaps still is) one of the most expensive medical schools in the country. I asked my interviewer what would happen if I couldn’t make a tuition payment, which was a serious concern for me. He replied, quite blandly, “You’d just have to drop out.”
One of my lifelong regrets is that I didn’t have the presence of mind to kick him in his family jewels.
Q. What is your favorite book? Film? And why?
A. I enjoyed The Bourne Identity and other Ludlum/Grisham books. For a film, it is a toss-up between Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Airplane and Pulp Fiction. Why? Escapism. My college fraternity was Animal House on steroids.
Q. What do you think is the greatest political danger to the field of dermatology?
A. I think it is the abandonment of medical and surgical dermatology by some of our colleagues who elect instead to open spas or other high-profit businesses.
This trivializes our specialty and gives insurance carriers ammunition to declare that all dermatologic complaints are cosmetic — and therefore should not be covered or reimbursed.
