Julie Ryan Wolf, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Wolf performs multidisciplinary clinical research that combines dermatology, cancer control, oncology, and health outcomes. She enjoys mentoring and working with medical students, graduate students, and residents. She has conducted multiple local and nationwide clinical trials and has held two FDA INDs (74,555 and 123,414). She received national recognition at ASCO 2009 for the nationwide NCORP trial investigating ginger for chemotherapy-induced nausea. Her NCORP trial investigating oral curcumin for radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients was the largest botanical product randomized controlled trial to date. A recently completed NCI-supported trial evaluated the effectiveness of prophylactic topical agents for radiation dermatitis and pain. Much of her research has been dedicated to understanding cancer-treatment induced toxicities and evaluating effective interventions to reduce these toxicities. Radiation dermatitis occurs in about 95% of patients and can negatively affect a patient's quality of life due to pain and premature interruption of radiation treatment. Management of radiation dermatitis has a broader significance as well; it has great importance in the morbidity and mortality expected in any potential "dirty bomb" attack. As part of the former University of Rochester Center for Medical Countermeasures Research (CMCR) program grant, Dr. Ryan Wolf investigated the role of altered barrier function and ROS-mediated damage on radiation-induced skin injury and combined radiation skin injury. Dr. Wolf’s research has also focused on elucidating the potential physical and psychosocial factors that influence the frequency and severity of patient-reported outcomes and clinical outcomes, such as skin reactions, pain, anxiety, and itch. Currently, she has a collaborative clinical trial with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, supported by the Wilmot Cancer Institute, investigating the use of aromatherapy as integrative cancer care for chemotherapy-induced symptoms. Another oncology project, in collaboration with Chapman University and SWOG, will evaluate the effectiveness of a novel topical vitamin K1 product for EGFRI-induced rash. Her new dermatology clinical trial, supported by Pfizer, will evaluate the impact of topical tacrolimus and crisaborole treatment on patient-reported outcomes and caregiver burden in children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis. This study will provide valuable insight into how treatment of a chronic disease affects patients, their families, and compliance to therapy. Another project in collaboration with Michigan State University and supported by NSF, involves optimization of a new metric and analysis for quality of care by applying complexity theory to healthcare routines. This novel analysis uses audit trail data from the electronic medical record to evaluate clinic visit process and workflow. Furthermore, Dr. Wolf has established using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMIS domains) as part of routine clinical care in dermatology. Thus far, her work has demonstrated the critical need for patient-reported outcomes in monitoring disease activity and treatment response.