AAD’s Your Dermatologist Knows maintains strong traditional media presence

Traditional media relations are a cornerstone of the AAD’s successful Your Dermatologist Knows consumer positioning strategy, and 2025 was an exceptional year for those efforts. The Academy secured more than 16,000 placements in high-profile outlets with a reach of 100,000 or more, reinforcing dermatologists’ vital role in educating the public about skin, hair, and nail health.

Some of the more notable examples of coverage secured during the year include:

• News of the FDA’s proposal to approve a new sunscreen filter ingredient in the United States for the first time in over two decades hit the headlines and was covered by Allure, The Washington Post, and NBC News. Henry Lim, MD, FAAD, and Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD, members of the AAD Media Expert Team, as well as AAD President Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, were featured experts.

• Board-certified dermatologist Anthony Rossi, MD, FAAD, a member of the AAD Media Expert Team, shared his personal story with basal cell carcinoma, related how he diagnosed his childhood best friend with skin cancer, and emphasized the importance of proper sun protection and seeing a dermatologist for suspicious skin changes. The Academy achieved major national exposure on ABC News and Good Morning America

  with this coverage highlighting men’s increased skin cancer risk and lower sunscreen use rates.

• Women’s Health highlighted the Academy’s annual Practice Safe Sun survey and the startling results that put a spotlight on Gen Z’s dangerous sun habits. AAD President Susan C. Taylor, MD, FAAD, spoke at length to the publication about the survey results, while also providing insight on sun protection and skin cancer prevention.

View additional high-profile media placements from 2025 at www.aad.org/media-wins.

These media relations tactics positioned dermatologists as the experts, while also encouraging the public to visit aad.org/findaderm and aad.org/public to find a dermatologist in their area and learn more about the over 3,000 conditions dermatologists treat.

In addition, the suite of Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology publications had a strong year. On social media, content from JAAD’s Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) accounts generated over 12.5 million impressions and over 300,000 engagements.

Some of the top-performing JAAD social media posts include:

• Novel application of punch excision therapy in the treatment of keloids: A systematic review

• A patient with periumbilical hyperpigmentation and keratotic papules

• Botulinum toxin injection shows promise in nail psoriasis: A comparative randomized controlled trial (Instagram)

• Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in the adjunctive treatment of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa: A systematic review

• Botulinum toxin injection shows promise in nail psoriasis: A comparative randomized controlled trial (Facebook)

Traditional media referencing JAAD research and findings received 150 high-profile placements. Some of the broadest-reaching placements in 2025 include:

• How Does Psoriasis Affect the Hands?

  • HealthCentral not only featured Joel Gelfand, MD, FAAD, but also referenced a JAAD study on how palmoplantar psoriasis is associated with greater impairment of health-related quality of life.

• How to Prepare for a New Tattoo, According to Dermatologists.

  • William Elliot Love, MD, FAAD, spoke with the consumer beauty publication Byrdie and cited a JAAD review that noted wound healing and abnormal scarring were associated with patients taking oral retinoids and undergoing surgical procedures.

• The Actual Benefits of Red Light Therapy, According to Doctors

Men’s Health referenced two JAAD studies about red-light therapy and featured Omit Om, MD, FAAD, throughout.