Ruth Ann Vleugels, MD
Rabkin Fellow in Medical Education
Instructor in Dermatology, Harvard Medical School
Attending Physician, Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Attending Physician, Division of Immunology and Allergy, Children's Hospital
Fellowship Project:
Designing a novel fellowship in autoimmue dermatology
Dr. Ruth Ann Vleugels is the Director of the Connective Tissue Disease Clinic at Brigham and Women’s Department of Dermatology, Co-Director of the Rheumatology-Dermatology Clinic at Children’s Hospital, and an instructor in dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vleugels received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and American literature from the University of Virginia where she was a Jefferson Scholar. She attended medical school as a Canby Robinson Scholar at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and was awarded the Hospital Award for Excellence and the Dean’s Award for Teaching and Education. She then completed her residency at Harvard Dermatology, where she served as a chief resident in her final year and piloted numerous curricular initiatives. She currently serves as the Associate Director for Education at Brigham and Women’s Dermatology and is a representative on Harvard Dermatology’s Education Committee. In addition, she serves on the Residency Review Committee for Dermatology of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Eeducation (ACGME).
As a Rabkin Fellow, Dr. Vleugels developed a curriculum for a novel fellowship in medical dermatology in the arena of autoimmune dermatology, or dermatology-rheumatology. In the spring of her Rabkin Fellowship year, this novel curriculum was formally approved by Partners Graduate Medical Education (GME). It is the only formal fellowship opportunity of its kind in the country. Goals of the fellowship include training future academic leaders to care for patients and educate trainees in the sphere of connective tissue disease dermatology. Dr. Vleugels serves as the program director of this year-long program. During her Rabkin Fellowship year, she also worked to design an advanced elective for Harvard Medical School students called “Understanding Lupus—A Multidisciplinary Approach to Systemic Disease,” which she now co-leads.
