Investiture program_Kwatra-Burnett

Investiture Ceremony
AWARDING
Shawn G. Kwatra, MD
the Dr. Joseph Warren Burnett Professorship in Dermatology
Westminster Hall • Baltimore, Maryland
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025

DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR
Shawn G. Kwatra, MD
Shawn Kwatra, MD, is the Chair of
Dermatology at the University of
Maryland School of Medicine and an
internationally recognized clinician
who treats patients worldwide with
recalcitrant pruritus.
Dr. Kwatra’s primary basic, clinical, and
translational research focuses on the
pathogenesis and treatment of chronic
pruritus. The National Institutes of Health, Dermatology Foundation, Skin of
Color Society, and Society for Investigative Dermatology have funded his
research. He has authored or co-authored over 300 publications in peerreviewed
international journals.
He has discovered several new therapeutics for chronic itch, including
ketamine infusions and intralesional bupivacaine injections. He also led the
discovery of a new skin disease characterized by recalcitrant erythroderma
and received a patent for a novel peripheral blood immunophenotyping
system. Additionally, he has served as the multicenter principal investigator
for several global clinical trial programs, with his work leading to the FDA
approval of multiple new therapies.
Dr. Kwatra obtained his undergraduate degree from Duke University and
his medical training at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He
completed his dermatology residency at the Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, where he later joined the faculty and was the founding
Director of the Johns Hopkins Itch Center.

PROGRAM
WELCOME
Heather S. Culp, JD
Senior Vice President
Chief Philanthropy Officer
Senior Associate Dean
University of Maryland Medicine
William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FASTRO, FACRO
Isadore and Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair and
Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
University of Maryland School of Medicine
President, University of Maryland Faculty Physicians, Inc.
Executive Director, Maryland Proton Treatment Center
REMARKS
Mark T. Gladwin, MD
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland, Baltimore
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean
DONOR RECOGNITION
Mark T. Gladwin, MD
SPEAKERS
Sewon Kang, MD
Noxell Professor and Chair, Department of Dermatology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Dermatologist-in-Chief
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Zaineb H. Makhzoumi, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology
Section Head, Dermatologic Surgery and Oncology
Director of Clinical Services, Department of Dermatology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Denise Thomma, MA
Librarian, Nativity Catholic School
Jim Davis
Chairman, Allegis Group
MEDAL PRESENTATION
Mark T. Gladwin, MD
REMARKS
Shawn G. Kwatra, MD
The Dr. Joseph Warren Burnett Professor of Dermatology
CLOSING REMARKS
William F. Regine, MD

THE TRADITION OF
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
The first endowed professorships were established more than 500
years ago with the creation of the Lady Margaret chairs in divinity
at Oxford and Cambridge universities. Lady Margaret, countess
of Richmond and grandmother of Henry VIII, sponsored the endowed
chairs in 1502. Subsequently, private individuals began making financial
contributions to establish other endowed professorships and chairs such as
the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, which Sir Isaac Newton held beginning
in 1669. Professor Stephen Hawking, the internationally renowned physicist
and recipient of the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom, was another
prominent holder of this endowed chair.
The honor associated with appointment to an endowed position has
remained unchanged for the last 500 years and is recognized as one of
the highest tributes that an academic institution can bestow upon its most
distinguished faculty. These endowed professorships and chairs continue
uninterrupted to the present time to reward exceptional scholars.
The Office of Development is charged with securing private gifts to ensure
the school’s tradition of excellence is sustained through robust research
and clinical and educational programs and initiatives. The University of
Maryland School of Medicine is fortunate to have 93 endowed chairs and
professorships in various stages of completion and held by esteemed
faculty members.

ABOUT THE DONOR
Joseph W. Burnett, MD
The late Joseph W. Burnett, MD, was a
distinguished physician, educator, and
researcher whose career left a lasting
impact on the field of dermatology. In 1965,
he joined the University of Maryland School
of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of
Medicine, where he dedicated himself to
patient care, teaching, and research while
also managing a private practice. He ended
his career as Professor Emeritus.
Recognizing the need for growth in the
field, he played a pivotal role in expanding
the Division of Dermatology, recruiting full-time faculty, and developing
research laboratories. His efforts culminated in 1992 with the establishment
of the Department of Dermatology, a defining achievement that solidified the
specialty’s presence at the institution.
Beyond his contributions to medical education and research, Dr. Burnett
demonstrated his commitment to advancing dermatology by raising and
personally investing funds to endow a named professorship at the University of
Maryland School of Medicine. His leadership and vision influenced generations
of physicians and researchers.
Born in northwestern Pennsylvania in 1933 and raised in Lancaster, Dr. Burnett
came from a medical family that nurtured his passion for medicine. He attended
St. George’s School in Newport, RI, before earning his undergraduate degree
from Yale University in 1954, graduating magna cum laude. He then attended
Harvard Medical School, where he received his MD cum laude in 1958. Following
a three-year medical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he pursued a
dermatology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1961. His academic
journey continued with a research fellowship in virology under Nobel Laureate
Dr. Thomas Weller at the Harvard School of Public Health.

SUPPORT MARYLAND MEDICINE
TODAY’S GIFTS —
TOMORROW’S VISIONARY MEDICINE
To make a gift or for more information, contact:
Kim Morton
Associate Dean for Development
kmorton@som.umaryland.edu | 410-706-3901