Rate My Professor Catherine Smith

Professor Catherine Smith holds the position of Professor of Dermatology and Therapeutics at King's College London, within the St John’s Institute of Dermatology. She is also an adjunct professor and a consultant dermatologist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where she leads the national specialised services for adults with severe psoriasis and eczema. In 2022, she was appointed as an NIHR Senior Investigator, one of 31 prestigious awards given to outstanding leaders in patient and public-based research.

Her academic and research career focuses on inflammatory skin diseases, particularly severe psoriasis and eczema. Professor Smith’s work aims to deliver disease remission through innovative, data-driven, proactive, and inclusive precision medicine strategies. This encompasses a broad spectrum of translational medicine, from biomarker discovery and stratification to conducting interventional studies in phases II through IV. Her efforts involve extensive collaborations with national and international partners, enhancing the scope and impact of her research. She co-directs the Skin Therapy Research Unit, a dedicated dermatology research and clinical trials facility jointly operated by King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Additionally, she leads the Clinical Diagnostics Development Unit, promoting harmonized methods for processing clinical samples.

Professor Smith has made substantial contributions to guideline development and implementation in the UK and Europe, ensuring that research findings translate effectively into clinical practice. Notably, she chaired the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on psoriasis and the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) guidelines on biologic therapy. Her interests extend to therapeutics, including biologic therapies, and evidence-based medicine. Through these roles and her leadership in specialised clinical services, she bridges research, policy, and patient care, significantly influencing the management of inflammatory skin conditions.