Nicholas Brownstone, MD, on Collaborative Immunology and Digital Education at Winter Clinical Miami

Nicholas Brownstone, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, met with Dermatology Times to discuss his multidisciplinary session at Winter Clinical Miami and highlight his educational initiatives in podcasting for both trainees and patients.

Along with Mark Lebwohl, MD, Brownstone co-chaired “Practical Immunology: A Multidisciplinary Approach,” a two-hour cross-therapeutic workshop designed to help dermatologists integrate immunologic principles into everyday practice.¹ He opened the session by reviewing a landmark 2021 publication in the New England Journal of Medicine that proposed reframing immune-mediated diseases according to shared cytokine “hubs” rather than by organ system alone. Using psoriatic disease as a key example, he explained that while cutaneous psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis present in distinct tissues—skin and joints—classification by cytokine pathways reveals significant mechanistic overlap. This cytokine-based framework highlights the biological commonalities underlying seemingly disparate clinical phenotypes and encourages more unified therapeutic thinking.

The session extended beyond dermatology to include expert insights from gastroenterology, allergy/immunology, and rheumatology. Faculty shared practical pearls on comorbid arthritis, chronic urticaria, and inflammatory bowel disease, emphasizing what dermatologists need to recognize when managing complex, multisystem inflammatory conditions. The workshop underscored the importance of collaborative care and a mechanistic understanding of disease in an era of increasingly targeted therapies.

Beyond the conference, Brownstone remains active in dermatologic education through podcasting. He hosts Cutaneous Miscellaneous: The Dermatology Residents Podcast, which combines board review with practical career guidance not typically covered during residency, including working with industry, delivering effective lectures, and understanding medico-legal and financial principles.

“As we all know, at the end of residency, you could treat any rash, cut out any skin cancer, and give Botox to any patient. But some of these topics may not be covered in residency,” Brownstone said.

He is also the creator and co-host of The SKINSight Podcast, supported by the American Skin Association, a nonprofit serving millions of Americans with skin disease. Designed specifically for patients, the series addresses diagnosis, management, comorbidities, and the psychosocial burden of conditions such as alopecia areata, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and skin cancer. Through these initiatives, Brownstone aims to bridge knowledge gaps for both clinicians and patients, reinforcing education as a cornerstone of comprehensive dermatologic care.

Reference

1. Brownstone N, Lebwohl M. Practical Immunology: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Presented at: 2026 Winter Clinical Miami Dermatology Conference; February 27-March 1, 2026; Aventura, FL.