A Conversation With Stephen K. Tyring, MD, PhD, MBA
Dr Stephen K. Tyring is the medical director of the Dermatological Associates of Texas (Houston Skin) and the Center for Clinical Studies. He is also an adjunct professor in the departments of dermatology, microbiology/molecular genetics, and internal medicine (division of infectious diseases) at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center McGovern School of Medicine in Houston, TX. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana State University, his master’s degree from Abilene Christian University, his PhD from Texas Tech University, his MD from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and his MBA from Rice University. He completed his dermatology residency at the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
Dr Tyring is former president of both the Houston Dermatological Society and the Texas Dermatological Society (TDS). He received the TDS Mentoring and Leadership Award in 2014, the American Academy of Dermatology Presidential Citation in 2016, and the National Psoriasis Foundation Provider Award in 2025. He is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America and the American Federation for Clinical Research.
Dr Tyring is an author of over 1000 journal articles and book chapters, as well as 11 books, most recently Overcoming Antimicrobial Resistance of the Skin, in addition to being an editorial board member and reviewer for several dermatology and internal medicine journals. A principal investigator on over 400 successfully completed clinical trials, his research interests include the therapy and prevention of various mucocutaneous diseases, especially those with an immunological or infectious basis.
Q. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure?
A. Making new discoveries in the therapy and prevention of cutaneous diseases due to infectious or inflammatory etiologies.
Q. What is the best thing that has happened to you in the past 6 months?
A. Being awarded a National Institute on Aging grant for A Study That Collects Participant Data and Biospecimens to Analyze Pathogenic Exosomes That Mediate Increased Vascular Dementia Risk in Individuals With Herpes Zoster.
Q. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
A. Meeting and marrying my wife, Patricia Lee, MD.
Q. Who was your hero/mentor and why?
A. Gertrude Elion, MSc, a pioneering biochemist and pharmacologist who overcame discrimination against her gender and religion to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1988 for her groundbreaking work in drug development, including azathioprine, acyclovir, and AZT. Despite her many honors, she always accepted my invitations to lecture to and mentor medical students and young dermatologists.
Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received and from whom?
A. “Persistence pays” from Samuel Baron, MD, chairman of microbiology/immunology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, who was my post-doctoral mentor.
Q. What is the greatest challenge in the field of medicine or dermatology?
A. Misinformation coming from multiple media sources, which is contradictory to medical/scientific facts.
Q. What is currently most played on your music playlist?
A. “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘N’ Roll)” by AC/DC.
