Erum N. Ilyas, MD ’01, MBE, has been appointed interim academic chair of Drexel University College of Medicine’s provisional Department of Dermatology.
Dr. Ilyas earned a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, cum laude, from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and then matriculated at MCP-Hahnemann University, where she also completed an internship in internal medicine. She completed a dermatology residency at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she was chief resident. She earned a master’s degree in bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in 2017.
Dr. Ilyas has held clinical dermatologist positions at Philadelphia Institute of Dermatology, Mystic Valley Dermatology and Bryn Mawr Dermatology, and she was CEO of Montgomery Dermatology LLC for more than a decade. She currently practices at Schweiger Dermatology and is the founder and CEO of AmberNoon, a sun protective clothing company. She has consistently been named to Top Doctors lists since 2011 and earned the Best Dermatologist Readers’ Choice Award from Philadelphia Style Magazine in 2022.
Dr. Ilyas has been a College of Medicine faculty member since 2016 and served as the Dermatology Pathway director since 2021. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and a member of the Skin Cancer Foundation, the Society for Pediatric Dermatology, the Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and the Philadelphia Dermatological Society. She has presented on the topics of sun protective clothing, age-related changes of the skin, skin conditions in women, acne, rosacea and nail disorders. She has published papers regarding sunscreen choice, UV protection in children’s clothing and sunscreen for skin of color.
In her new role at the College of Medicine, Dr. Ilyas will focus on building the pre-clinical and clinical dermatology curriculum for medical students, while expanding research opportunities and community outreach. She will review and expand the preclinical curriculum and recruit faculty to support the clinical experience of medical students who are either interested in potentially pursuing a career in dermatology or looking to expand their clinical expertise in the specialty.
She will be charged with growing the number of engaged faculty who represent all the dermatologic subspecialities including medical dermatology, procedural dermatology (Mohs surgery), dermatopathology, pediatric dermatology and cosmetic dermatology. She will develop research opportunities for medical students in the dermatologic sciences, leveraging her current research background in cutaneous interactions with textiles.
A key goal of the provisional Department of Dermatology is nurturing a strong connection to the community. Programs already in development under Dr. Ilyas’ leadership include supporting dermatologic education in high schools, fostering sun protective efforts in communities, and outreach to special needs daycares to support skin health.