Featured CDSI Research of Dr. Eric Tkaczyk
Dr. Eric Tkaczyk develops artificial intelligence algorithms, imaging, and other technologies to provide skin-based assessments for personalized, evidence-based decisions within dermatology as well as in applications to systemic diseases with skin manifestations, such as Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis researched at CDSI.
Eric Tkaczyk, MD, PhD, FAAD, is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Director of the Vanderbilt Dermatology Translational Research Clinic.
Expertise:
Dr. Tkaczyk is a physician-scientist with expertise in studying biophotonics for the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous diseases. For example, Dr. Tkaczyk utilizes noninvasive diagnostic technology, 3D Imaging, and machine learning/artificial intelligence to research cutaneous diseases both at the Center for Drug Safety and Immunology (CDSI) and at the Vanderbilt Dermatology Translational Research Clinic (VDTRC).
Current Focus:
As part of the North American Therapeutics In Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (NATIENS) study, Dr. Tkaczyk, Dr. Elizabeth Phillips, and research staff utilize 3D photography analyzed with novel informatic approaches to assess Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) disease evolution and resolution.
As the founding director of the VDTRC, Dr. Tkaczyk works with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and engineers whose mission is to seamlessly integrate patient care, clinical investigation, and fundamental technology research with applications in dermatology, oncology, hematology, and other specialties.
Learn more about Dr. Tkaczyk's research projects below.
Dr. Tkaczyk spearheads efforts to provide patients with noninvasive skin biopsies.
The technology Dr. Tkaczyk and his colleagues use to perform these procedures is reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). RCM is a new imaging tool that creates deeper visuals of the skin and enables clinicians to monitor and diagnose skin lesions without invasive cutting and scarring.
Additional advantages of RCM for patients include the fact that this tool is:
- Bladeless
- Painless
- Approved for reimbursement by Medicare and many other insurance providers
Investigating human leukocyte dynamics with non-invasive imaging techniques is another area of focus for Dr. Tkaczyk. Leukocyte motion, such as leukocyte rolling and adhesion to the vascular endothelium, may provide essential insights into inflammatory processes.
Dr. Tkaczyk and his team utilize non-invasive in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and video analysis to study these cellular processes. Their research on in vivo RCM for studying cutaneous graft-versus-host disease provides a scientific foundation for interpreting images created with novel RCM technology.
Dr. Tkaczyk’s clinical and translational research involves various novel techniques for studying medical conditions.
3D photography is a tool he utilizes for analyzing skin rashes. This 3D photography is taken at a standard distance, lighting, and color calibration, or through hyperspectral approaches. Hyperspectral imaging is a technique that analyzes a broad spectrum of light to provide more information on what is imaged. Exploring the additional value of hyperspectral imaging in the treatment of disease is one of his current focus areas.
In addition, artificial intelligence and crowdsourcing are means for Dr. Tkaczyk and his collaborators in electrical engineering and biomedical informatics to gain feedback on the best means for analyzing and demarcating images of cutaneous complications of systemic cancer treatments.
Dr. Tkaczyk is also exploring the clinical application of a safe and painless device that can objectively measure the biomechanical properties of soft tissues, the Myoton. Current investigations by Dr. Tkaczyk and his colleagues with this device include assessing measurements of skin stiffness and how they correlate with sclerotic disease progression and patients’ symptoms.
