Dr. Jaleel is a dermatologist with a clinical and research focus on hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). She did most of her training at University of Alabama at Birmingham, spent a year working with European Institute of Women’s Health, and most recently completed a Master’s in Clinical Research at Duke. She is passionate about advancing our understanding of the role of sex hormones in skin inflammation as it relates to HS disease pathogenesis. HS is a chronic inflammatory skin condition with acute painful flares. It predominantly affects African-Americans, females, and those of lower socio-economic background. It tends to present around puberty and flares of disease have been noted surrounding menses. The role of hormonal fluctuations on disease activity remains to be fully elucidated and there is a desperate need for targeted therapy. Her BIRCWH project, Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Women: relationship between sex hormones and skin inflammation, will allow her to better understand the mechanisms by which hormone signaling controls skin inflammation with the future goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets. Read more about the BIRCWH Scholarship here.