Young Physician Spotlight - Alexander Means, MD, FAAD

Alexander Means, MD, FAAD is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. His clinical interests in infectious disease dermatology and dermatoepidemiology began early in his academic career, receiving his undergraduate degree in bacterial genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison after which he worked in emerging infectious diseases at the CDC. He graduated with honors from Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine and stayed in Chicago for his dermatology residency at the University of Chicago, after which he did a fellowship in Dermatoepidemiology in Rhode Island at the Providence VA Medical Center associated with Brown University. In 2015, Dr. Means was also awarded the WDS Academic Research Award for his project on psychosocial morbidity in hidradenitis suppurativa.

Dr. Means is an active member in the American Academy of Dermatology, the Women’s Dermatology Society, and the Society for Investigative Dermatology. He is dedicated to mentoring medical students and residents, and improving access to dermatology for the underserved.

How did you become interested in dermatology and what led you to where you are now?

I never saw a pediatrician growing up, only dermatologists—my acne started at age 13 and is still going strong! Thank God for isotretinoin. I actively explored other medical disciplines, and had the best summer of my life at UCLA looking at sleep quality in older veterans where I fell in love with that most grateful patient population, but after meeting Dr. Aisha Sethi, MD (current Associate Professor at Yale), it became ‘derm or bust’.

Until Dr. Sethi’s wonderful and precocious daughter, Aliya, was born, she would travel to Malawi for one month each year to function as the country’s only dermatologist, seeing hundreds of patients in a single week at clinics and refugee camps, and meeting with government officials to advocate for social justice causes like protections for people with albinism*. I was lucky enough to accompany her and Dr. Chrys Schmults, MD (current Associate Professor at Harvard) in 2011 with, then-trainee rockstars, Drs. Una Miniter, MD; Laura Boger, MD; and Rebecca Kaiser, MD. The experience motivated me to make social justice a cornerstone of my career.

On my return to the US, serendipity placed Dr. Becki Tung, MD (current Chair at Loyola) into my life.  She is someone who has similarly dedicated her life to volunteerism at home and abroad, whether sponsoring SPOTme® clinics in Chicago or performing Mohs in Brazil, and was the first to sit me down and say “let’s make your dream [of becoming a dermatologist] come true”. Her recommendation letter got me into residency. It is not an understatement to say I owe these women—all active WDS members—my entire career.

What are you working on now?

I am in the process of creating longitudinal relationships with some of the Native tribes in Wisconsin, in the vein of the AAD’s Native American Health Service Resident Rotation Program which I participated in during residency. This is much more economically and personally feasible for me than a month abroad at this stage in my life, and there are fewer cultural barriers to circumnavigate. I would like to spend at least 1-2 days volunteering at tribal clinics each month, with the goal of better identifying and addressing dermatology disparities facing these populations. Ultimately, I hope to provide opportunities for trainees to live out social justice in dermatology, much as I started to do after accompanying Dr. Sethi all those years ago. I am also one of about 400 physicians nationally—almost all of whom are in primary care or psychiatry—who conduct pro bono asylum evaluations for victims of torture and ill-treatment. I would like to encourage dermatologists’ participation in this important work, as most physical torture sequelae manifest on the skin, and we are in a uniquely important position to provide informed legal testimony regardless of current immigration and customs enforcement uncertainties.

What are your interests outside of work and how do you strike a work-life balance?

Somewhere in “Lean In”, Sheryl Sandberg mentions that she always eats dinner at 6pm with her kids. I don’t have children yet, but they shouldn’t be the only justification permitted for drawing boundaries. I almost never respond to work emails or patient care issues after 6:30pm, and never on the weekends. To be honest, I don’t think any physician in any specialty should ever have to be “on call” for anything other than an Emergency department or inpatient consult that would change management. There are already personnel trained to evaluate and triage time-sensitive emergencies. Things continue that we allow to continue.

Regarding avocations, my mom was a home economics teacher so I am constantly experimenting with and reading, writing, or talking about food. I love road trips and street festivals, and never visit the same place twice except to see friends. I’m probably the only person left in America who doesn’t run with headphones, and can’t wait to do another marathon. Being from the Midwest, I also love planning and attending weddings and have even officiated a few (though if you need someone in a pinch, my divorce rate is unfortunately no better than the national average).