Katrina Abuabara, MD

How did you first find out about Clin-STAR and the pilot grant program?

My mentor told me about the program, and I realized it was a perfect fit to support my growing interest in aging research. Most aging research in dermatology focuses changes in skin appearance and skin cancer, and there is a gap in our understanding of the role of skin barrier function in aging. This program gives me the opportunity to grow my research in this area and to learn from leaders in the field that I might not have had the opportunity to collaborate as closely with otherwise.

What inspired you to pursue aging research and how does your perspective as a non-geriatrician specialist contribute to your research activity?

My interest in the role of skin barrier dysfunction and aging developed from my clinical experience. I often care for older patients whose lives are severely impacted by eczema (also known as atopic dermatitis) and suffer from persistent itch, chronic sleep disruption, and lack of effective treatment options. Historically, most eczema research has focused on children, and I was interested in understanding the natural history across the life course. I found that adult-onset disease is common, and the prevalence and severity increase in older adulthood. Moreover, my collaborators and I found that severe eczema is associated with cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression, osteoporosis and fractures, and dementia. All of these conditions share an inflammatory component, which led me to want to better understand the role of skin barrier function in the aging process.

In your view, what does Clin-STAR mean to the field and what does it mean for you to receive a Clin-STAR pilot grant now?

Older adults make up a large proportion of our patient population and have unique needs, but dermatology has yet to formally recognize geriatric dermatology as a subspeciality akin to pediatric dermatology. Clin-STAR is important to support research on aging skin to help us better care for our patients. Personally, this program is instrumental in enabling me to develop a new direction in my research program and equip me with the tools and connections to design impactful and high-quality studies.

What’s exciting about your research’s potential impact to your career, field, and patients?

Our proposed research focuses on a novel mechanism for cognitive decline with clear therapeutic potential: age-associated skin barrier dysfunction can be reduced with safe, easily accessible, low-cost emollients. Because skin barrier decline and dementia are so common among older adults, even small reductions in risk could translate to a large public health impact. Moreover, skin barrier function might be present before early signs of cognitive decline allowing for identification of individuals who may benefit from early screening or intervention.

How have you collaborated with your mentor or co-investigators?

I’ve worked with co-investigators at the National Institute on Aging to incorporate measures of skin barrier function into the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, a large ongoing cohort of healthy aging in the US. My mentor, Kristine Yaffe, has helped me to design a series of studies leveraging these data to understand more nuanced associations between skin barrier function in healthy aging and cognitive decline.