| Clinical
Specialties |
Research Interests |
Genetic skin disorders
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Wound healing, molecular basis of limb regeneration
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Dr. Rugg joined the Department of Dermatology in August 2003 as an Associate Researcher. She has spent most of her life in the where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the
University of
London and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the
University of
St. Andrews . Dr. Rugg’s interests in skin biology began in 1991 when she joined the Cancer Research Campaign Cell Structure Research Group,
University of
Dundee as a postdoctoral scientist under the directorship of
Professor Birgit Lane. In 1998 she was appointed as an honorary lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology,
University of
Dundee and later that year moved the Centre for Cutaneous Research,
London as a Senior Lecturer.
Over the last fifteen years Dr. Rugg has collaborated with scientists and clinicians from Europe and the
to identify the causes of several inherited skin disorders. Her work includes the identification of genes causing epidermolysis bullosa simplex (EBS), pachyonychia congenita, epidermolysis bullosa with muscular dystrophy and white sponge nevus. In collaboration with Medical Genetics at
Ninewells
Hospital , Dundee, she established the
clinical services for the prenatal diagnosis of EBS.
Dr. Rugg continues to work on genetic skin disorders but is now focused on developing model systems in which to study the biological effects of the gene mutations. Her primary efforts are directed towards understanding the cellular effects of mutations in keratin genes and how these cause the disease symptoms. She anticipates that this work will identify novel strategies for treating keratin and related disorders. Dr. Rugg is also interested in wound healing and is part of a multicenter program researching digit and limb regeneration in vertebrates.
Dr. Rugg has published many papers on the genetic basis of inherited skin disorders. She is a member of the American Society for Human Genetics and the Society for Investigative Dermatology.
Link for Dr. Rugg's Bio: http://www.dermatology.uci.edu/Rugg%20Research.pdf
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