Naiem Issa, M.D., Ph.D, FAAD is a board-certified dermatologist, Director of Clinical Research & Academics with Forefront Dermatology, USA practicing in Vienna, Virginia, Assistant Professor at the University of Miami Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery, Clinical Assistant Professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Clinical Instructor at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Dr. Issa received his M.D. and Ph.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He completed his internship in General Surgery at Washington Hospital Center. He then completed a post-doctoral research fellowship and Dermatology residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. His Ph.D. is in Tumor Biology from within the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center with a focus on computational methods for drug discovery. His work is particularly focused on repurposing of current FDA approved drugs for new dermatologic and cancer indications. Dr. Issa’s research interests include drug discovery for hair loss, vascular malformations such as Sturge-Weber Syndrome and healing of chronic wounds. His major research accomplishments have been the repurposing of the anti-hookworm medication mebendazole as a kinase inhibitor and anti-angiogenic for various malignancies, the discovery of the first small molecule drug to directly inhibit the GNAQ protein implicated in Sturge-Weber Syndrome, and first use of oral ruxolitinib for a deadly form of gamma/delta Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma.
Dr. Issa is a nationally and internationally recognized lecturer and has authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and two textbook chapters across various disciplines within dermatology and drug discovery. He has received research funding support from the Sturge-Weber Foundation, Dermatology Foundation, and the University of Miami Scientific Advisory Committee. He is also inventor of a patent on CBD nanoparticles combined with minoxidil for hair regrowth and a pending patent on a novel anesthetic combination for ambulatory skin surgeries designed to reduce the need for epinephrine.
