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Advancing Health Equity Together

We know that no single person or organization can overcome the health challenges faced by communities of color alone. That’s why we’ve convened an inspiring and diverse group of healthcare providers, patients and advocates who are all passionate about advancing health equity. Their collective dialogue uncovered that a greater focus must be placed on shortening the time to and supporting more accurate diagnosis of psoriatic disease in all skin types.

Alisha Bridges
Howard Chang
Dharma E. Cortés
Lynn McKinley-Grant
Naureen Kabani
Reshma Khan
Melissa Leeolou
Davia Roberts
Diane Talbert
Shilpa Venkatachalam
Grace Wright
*Soumya Chakravarty
*Daphne Chan
*Lloyd Miller

*Denotes a current employee of Johnson & Johnson

The Challenges We’re Working to Overcome

People of color experience higher rates of delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis and experience a lower quality of life than others.1-4
READ MORE ABOUT INEQUITIES IN CARE
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Alisha Bridges

Psoriasis Patient Advocate

Alisha has lived with plaque PsO and PsA for two decades. At seven years old she started experiencing itchy, flaky, inflamed skin which led to a diagnosis of plaque psoriasis, during a time when public awareness about PsO was minimal. Alisha encountered a barrage of stigma and misconceptions about her skin and struggled with low self-esteem throughout her youth and adolescence. Since then, Alisha has dedicated her entire life to health advocacy. Her most notable work comes from volunteering with The National Psoriasis Foundation. She had the privilege of speaking with members of Congress to advocate for health legislations for PsO research. Feeling empowered by supporting the education of people about PsO, she continues to raise awareness about the disease.

Howard Chang

Psoriasis Patient Advocate

Howard has lived with severe plaque PsO and atopic dermatitis for over 40 years since childhood. He is an active National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) member and was named the 2021 NPF Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award winner. He serves as an NPF Western Advocacy Committee Co-Chair and as a member of the 2022 Capitol Hill Day Committee. Howard has written his PsO column, The Itch to Beat Psoriasis, on Everyday Health for more than 14 years and was named one of the 2018 WEGO Health Top 10 Lifetime Achievement Patient Leaders. He has served on PsO patient panels and in industry advisory groups. Howard is also an ordained minister who has worked in churches for over 20 years and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in the greater Sacramento, California, area with his wife, with whom he has three adult children.

Dharma E. Cortés, PhD

Senior Scientist at Health Equity Research Lab; Sociologist

Dr. Cortés is a Senior Scientist at the Health Equity Research Lab and Director of Latino Programs at Environment and Health Group. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico, a Doctorate degree in Sociology from Fordham University, and completed her post-doctoral training in Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Social Medicine. For more than 25 years, Dr. Cortés has been conducting community-based research with Latinos in the U.S., focusing on acculturation, health, mental health, and access to health care. She has contributed as principal investigator, co-investigator and consultant to studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others.

Lynn McKinley-Grant, MD, FAAD

Dermatologist & Former President of Skin of Color Society

Dr. McKinley-Grant is the former president of the Skin of Color Society, Associate Professor of Dermatology at Howard University College of Medicine and Adjunct Professor and former Vice Chair for Diversity and Community Engagement at Duke University School of Medicine. As a medical student, she was a fellow at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambarene, Gabon, Africa, where she recognized the importance of detecting the early signs of systemic disease in black and brown skin. Dr. McKinley-Grant is committed to teaching, and her focus, passion and experience in medicine has been making accurate clinical assessments of disease and health in diverse populations.

Naureen Kabani, MD

Rheumatologist and Attending Physician, University Hospital at SUNY Downstate

Dr. Naureen Kabani is a rheumatologist and attending physician at the University Hospital at SUNY Downstate in Brooklyn, New York. In her role, she is also responsible for overseeing the Rheumatology arm of Downstate’s patient navigation program in partnership with Johnson & Johnson. She received her medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine and her BS in Biology from Duke University.

Reshma Khan, MD

Rheumatologist & Founder of Women Rheumatology Group – WRG

Dr. Reshma Khan has built an innovative patient-driven care rheumatology practice in the Palm Beaches in Florida. She is a renowned board-certified rheumatologist and a guest lecturer who is committed to delivering compassionate care while offering her patients the most advanced treatments available today. Palm Beach Rheumatology and Wellness Center is designed specifically so that patients can receive personalized care and can spend much-needed time with a physician. Dr. Khan has designed this practice to allow her a deeper understanding of and connection with her patients and their rheumatology needs.

Melissa Leeolou

Psoriasis Patient Advocate

Melissa was diagnosed with psoriasis as an infant and has lived with the condition for more than 25 years. Growing up, she had widespread patches of red, itchy plaques covering her body and causing chronic inflammatory pain. Melissa has experienced how the emotional and psychological toll of psoriasis can be as disruptive and detrimental as its physical symptoms. She has volunteered with the National Psoriasis Foundation for nearly a decade, and her patient advocacy efforts have been featured by WebMD, HealthCentral, SELF Magazine, and Health.com, to name a few. Melissa is a former ballerina and currently attends medical school, where she’s studying to be a physician with a focus on translational research. Her goal is to care for marginalized patients through education, advocacy, and research.

Davia Roberts, LPC

Executive Director of CarrierBradley Agency

Davia is a licensed therapist with a focus on racial equity, mental health, and well-being. She is a lifelong introvert who managed to make an entire career centered around talking to people. Despite the introvert stereotypes, she comes alive when she gets to engage in meaningful conversations about racial equity, mental health, and well-being. Those passions inspired her to create multiple mental health and wellness platforms like Redefine Enough, the AFFIRM podcast, and RESIDEhere. But the thing she is most proud of doing was a 12-month sabbatical that prioritized her own well-being. Her sabbatical motivated her to build a business that helps other professionals break through burnout and shame. This work has expanded to therapeutic programming for non-profit organizations, universities, and companies so that mental health and wellness are embedded into the culture of each organization.

Diane Talbert

Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Patient Advocate

Diane Talbert is a blogger and patient advocate who has lived with plaque PsO for over 50 years and PsA for about 20 years. She has written for Creaky Joints, The Mighty, Medium, Health Union, and Patients Rising. She has been featured in The New York Times and Arthritis Today, and on several health websites, including Everyday Health, The Arthritis Foundation, and BlackDoctor.org. Diane has been an active advocate for this disease for over a decade now. She also visits Capitol Hill every year and speaks at town hall meetings about autoimmune disease, with a goal in life of helping others with this disease who suffer in silence. Her mission is to let these people know that they are not alone and “can come out fighting.”

Shilpa Venkatachalam, PhD, MPH

Associate Director of Patient-Centered Research at CreakyJoints

Shilpa Venkatachalam, PhD, MPH, is the Associate Director of Patient Centered Research at the Global Healthy Living Foundation and Co-Principal Investigator of ArthritisPower® Patient-Powered Research Network. She manages and co-leads several of the organization’s research projects. Dr. Venkatachalam completed her undergraduate degree in Mumbai before earning a master’s degree in Literature at the University of Durham and her PhD in Critical Theory at the University of Nottingham. Following significant life events that required navigating health systems as a patient and as a caregiver, she earned an advanced master’s in Global Health from New York University, during which she also received the prestigious Paul Ambrose Scholars Program fellowship, awarded by the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research. She was among 25 chosen by The Young Persons Chronic Disease Network in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the Harvard Global Equity Center for The Global Cancer Advocacy Training. Dr. Venkatachalam lives with rheumatoid arthritis.

Grace Wright, MD, PhD

President of Association of Women in Rheumatology

Grace C. Wright, MD, PhD, is a consultant rheumatologist in New York City and President of the Association of Women in Rheumatology. Dr. Wright received her undergraduate degree at Barnard College, Columbia University, graduating magna cum laude. She earned her medical and doctorate degrees at NYU School of Medicine in 1990 and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the NYU Medical Center, where she served as clinical associate professor of medicine. Dr. Wright is the recipient of the Helen R. Downes Award for academic distinction and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society.

Dr. Wright has research and clinical interest in the management and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. She has served as an investigator of several clinical trials and has given numerous professional lectures around the world.

Dr. Wright is a fellow and member of the American College of Rheumatology. She has authored or co-authored several articles and is deeply engaged in medical education in rheumatology.

Soumya Chakravarty, MD, PhD, FACP, FACR

Senior Director, Strategic Lead, Rheumatology at Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Chakravarty serves as Senior Director & Strategic Lead, Rheumatology, U.S. Immunology Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, he was an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital. Dr. Chakravarty was an active clinician and clinical investigator with a focus on inflammatory arthritis disease pathogenesis and currently holds an adjunct faculty appointment at Drexel University, allowing him to maintain a continuity clinic to continue treating patients at their flagship teaching hospital, Tower Health Reading Hospital.

Daphne Chan, PhD, MHEcon

Senior Director, Strategic Lead Dermatology Therapeutic Area, Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Chan is currently the Head of Dermatology Medical Affairs at Johnson & Johnson. She is responsible for leading a team of clinicians and scientists who conduct phase 3/4 clinical trials designed to address clinical unmet needs in the post-approval setting and contribute clinical insights to inform phase 2/3 clinical development programs of new investigational therapies. In addition, the team is responsible for the development and execution of scientific communications and publications, medical education, and other clinical initiatives intended to increase disease awareness and broaden the communication of new data and evidence that could help inform clinical practice.

Dr. Chan has over 17 years of clinical development and medical affairs experience in the pharmaceutical industry. She has contributed to the clinical development and post-marketing development of various therapies across the Johnson & Johnson portfolio of therapeutic areas with concentration in dermatology and gastroenterology.

Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Chan was a research scientist in training at the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto in Canada. She completed her undergraduate training in Human Biology and Toxicology, and her doctoral training in Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Toronto, Canada. In addition, she completed further postgraduate training in Health Economics at the UPF Barcelona School of Management in Spain.

Lloyd Miller, MD, PhD

Vice President of Immunodermatology at Johnson & Johnson

As Vice President, Immunodermatology Disease Area Stronghold (DAS) Leader for Johnson & Johnson Research & Development, Dr. Miller provides scientific leadership in dermatology and sets the strategy to meet the needs of millions of patients living with immune-mediated skin diseases. He is a member of the Immunology Therapeutic Area’s Leadership Team, is the sponsor of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Working Group and is a co-lead for Johnson & Johnson’s Our Race to Health Equity efforts to enhance diversity in STEM education.

1Alexis AF, Blackcloud P. Psoriasis in skin of color: epidemiology, genetics, clinical presentation, and treatment nuances. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2014;7(11):16-24.

2Karmacharya P, Wright K, Achenbach SJ, et al. Diagnostic Delay in Psoriatic Arthritis: A Population-based Study. J Rheumatol. 2021;48(9):1-15.

3Ogdie A, Matthias W, Thielen RJ, et al. Racial Differences in Prevalence and Treatment for Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis by Insurance Coverage in the USA. Rheumatol Ther. 2021;8:1725-1739.

4Psoriasis Statistics. National Psoriasis Foundation. Updated October 8, 2021. Accessed May 1, 2024. https://www.psoriasis.org/psoriasis-statistics/