Cory Simpson, MD, PhD

Dr. Cory Simpson is a board-certified dermatologist at UW Medical Center's Roosevelt Dermatology Clinic and an Assistant Professor and Researcher in the Division of Dermatology at the University of Washington. A native of Granite City, Illinois, Dr. Simpson received his MD and PhD in Cell Biology from Northwestern University in Chicago, with his doctoral thesis focused on the role of desmosomal cadherins in epidermal differentiation and skin disease. After his residency in dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Simpson spent several years as a Clinical Instructor at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia. There, he built a subspecialty clinic focused on patients with inherited and autoimmune bullous disorders, which will continue to be his focus at UW. Dr. Simpson’s clinical expertise includes skin blistering diseases such as pemphigus and pemphigoid as well as genetic skin barrier disorders such as ichthyoses and Darier disease. 

Dr. Simpson launched a research laboratory at the University of Washington in 2021 to study epidermal differentiation and how it is compromised in dermatologic disease. The Simpson Lab focuses on the role of autophagy and organelle degradation in human keratinocytes and how these cellular pathways drive maturation and homeostasis of the epidermal tissue. Using an organotypic model of human skin coupled with advanced microscopy, his lab can visualize the live tissue at the level of single organelles to better understand how the epidermis forms and how disease-associated mutations disrupt the tissue. Ultimately, the Simpson Lab aims to identify novel treatment strategies to promote epidermal tissue regeneration after skin injuries and to restore skin barrier function in inherited and currently incurable dermatologic diseases.

Dr. Simpson’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the Dermatology Foundation, the American Skin Association, and the National Psoriasis Foundation.