Kristina Callis Duffin M.D., current co-chair of the University of Utah's Department of Dermatology, has been named full chair effective August 1, 2020. Callis Duffin will oversee all clinical, research, and education programs in the department.
"Dr. Callis Duffin is an outstanding leader," said Michael L. Good, M.D., Senior Vice President for Health Sciences and CEO of U of U Health. "She has established herself as a trusted and effective co-leader and I'm confident she will guide the department to even greater national acclaim, grow dermatology's clinical presence and establish an atmosphere in which researchers and students continue to thrive."
Callis Duffin is a professor in the Department of Dermatology and has co-chaired the department since July 2018. She is an international expert in dermatology, with a focus on psoriasis. She is the current president of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, and the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of the National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board.
"I'm honored to be selected for this key role," Callis Duffin said. "I am grateful to have had the opportunity to partner with Dr. Zone, and I share his vision to make our department the ‘best in the west.' I am committed to our missions of preparing future physicians, producing cutting-edge research, and providing world-class clinical caring to our community. My goals include strengthening our established research programs, promoting innovation and discovery in skin imaging and technology, and supporting the scholarly pursuits of our distinguished clinical faculty. I have a commitment to recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and will continue to make our department a place that values our patients, faculty, staff, and students from diverse backgrounds."
Callis Duffin brings an impressive background in leadership to her new role. In addition to numerous leadership positions with national dermatology organizations, she has served the department for the last several years as Vice-Chair for Clinical Research and Director of Clinical Trials. She is a fellow in the Academy of Health Sciences Educators and previously led and helped redesign the Survey Design course in the Master's in Clinical Research Program (MSCI). She has chaired two sub-committees of the Health Sciences' Workspace Taskforce. She also serves on the COVID-19 Childcare Task Force and the COVID-19 Ambulatory Operations Committee.
Before coming to Utah, she completed residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She began her career as an internist with the Greater Portland Medical Group in Falmouth, Maine and served as clerkship director and clinical instructor for the University of Vermont School of Medicine. She came to the University of Utah in 2000 as a clinical research fellow, then completed her dermatology residency at U of U Health prior to her faculty appointment in 2005.
Callis Duffin was raised in Bozeman, Montana. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biomedical Science from Montana State University in 1989 before attending medical school at the University of Washington. Her husband, Troy Duffin, is well-known figure in the Park City area, where he built more than 350 miles of public and private hiking and biking trails. Her daughter, Julia, is working on a masters in non-profit administration at the University of Oregon and works for the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund. Her younger daughter, Lauren, is a former University of Utah Red Rock gymnast and is studying psychology at the U of U.
Callis Duffin succeeds John Zone, M.D., who retired from serving as a chair of the department after 33 years. "We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Zone for his leadership and vision," said Good. "He's guided the department for decades and overseen its growth in both size and reputation in our community and nationally. His accomplishments have built the foundation on which Dr. Callis Duffin can continue to advance this strong tradition of academic, research, and clinical excellence."