Welcome to Professor Johannes Kern

Professor Johannes Kern, new joint appointment for Monash
University and Alfred Health

From Professor Terry O'Brien and Associate Professor Douglas Gin

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Johannes Kern (MD, PhD, ICDP-UEMS (Dermpath), FEBDV, FACD) to the joint clinical academic appointment between Alfred Health and Monash University as Professor and Deputy Director, Dermatology. He is also Vice President and Board Director of the Skin Health Institute.

 
Johannes is an outstanding academic dermatologist, who is an international recognised expert for his research into inflammatory and autoimmune skin diseases, and dermatological clinical trials. He is currently Head of Research in the Department of Dermatology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Honorary Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine, The University of Melbourne. Professor Kern graduated with his MD from the University of Freiburg in Germany where he trained as a Dermatologist and Dermatopathologist, and his PhD from The Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine in Freiburg (2010). He was certified by the German and European Boards as a Dermatologist in 2012, and Dermato-pathologist in 2014. He then relocated to Melbourne and obtained his Fellowship of The Australasian College of Dermatologists in 2016. 

Since coming to Melbourne, Professor Kern has established an outstanding translational multidisciplinary research program, that involves preclinical and clinical studies, and is highly collaborative nationally and internationally. He has been the Principal Investigator on >56 Phase I, II and III clinical trials of new and innovative therapies in dermatology (>20 ongoing). He has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers in leading medical journals, including The Lancet, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Molecular Therapy and JAMA Dermatology, which have been cited ~2500 times (H-Index 27). He has received >$5 million in funding for his research program. He has leadership roles in multiple societies and committees, including being a Board member of the Australasian Society for Dermatological Research and Convenor of the 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting in Melbourne.

Prof. Kern will significantly add build to the critical mass of clinical trial research lead by Associate Professor Douglas Gin, and academic dermatology research lead by Associate Professor Tori Mar in this Precinct. Professor Kern in particular will build the capacity and activity in dermatological clinical trials, and also cross-disciplinary research with others in the precinct researching immune-mediated dermatological reactions to medications and diseases.

Please join with us in congratulating Johannes on his appointment, and welcome him to the Alfred and Monash University. He will commence his appointment 7th of November and his office will be on the South end of the 6th Floor of the Alfred Centre (next to Alex Boussioutas).

Prof. Terry O’Brien (Head Central Clinical School, Monash University), Prof. Alex Boussioutas (Program Director, Special Medicine, Alfred Health)
A/Prof. Douglas Gin (Director of Dermatology, Alfred Health).