Mona Shahriari, MD, FAAD

In another interview segment on-site at the 

2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas

 editorial team about her session at the conference titled ‘Illuminate the Role of IL-13 Inhibitors for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis.’

Shahriari, who serves both as associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University and as host of 

 podcast, highlighted the use of interleukin (IL)-13 inhibition in the management of atopic dermatitis. IL-13 is known in the dermatology space as 1 of the main cytokines in the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis.

Clinical Pearls on IL-13 Inhibitors in Atopic Dermatitis, With Mona Shahriari, MD

“Right now, [atopic dermatitis] is being increasingly recognized as an IL-13 dominant disease,” Shahriari explained. “IL-13 is not just another pro-inflammatory cytokine. It actually does a lot in our bodies. It can be present in both lesional and non-lesional skin. It can contribute to the severity and the chronicity of the atopic dermatitis. It's present in a variety of skin tones, and we also see it throughout the life span of someone's [atopic dermatitis], from infancy all the way to adulthood. It contributes to itch.”

Shahriari pointed to the helpfulness of targeting IL-13, as direct inhibition is known to help a lot of patients with the signs and symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Three examples of IL-13-inhibiting medications in her session included dupilumab, tralokinumab, and lebrikizumab.

“[We] talked about tralekiniumab and lebrikizumab, which both target IL-13 cytokine specifically, and thereby prevent it from interacting with this receptor,” Shahriari said. “Those two molecules, even though they both target the cytokine, are a little bit different. Lebrikizumab latches onto that IL-13 molecule more intensely with a higher affinity, lower dissociation rate, so it doesn't really want to let go. So they are very distinct molecules from that standpoint.”

Shahriari went on to discuss a set of data on IL-13 inhibitors and atopic dermatitis.

“We talked about a dupilumab patient who developed conjunctivitis and inadequate response,” she explained. “Then we touched upon how, with some of the data that we currently have, if a patient is not doing well on duty, whether it's due to a inadequate response or an adverse event, they have a pretty good shot at doing well if you switch them to one of our IL-13 blocking agents, or you switch them over to a JAK inhibitor.”

To learn more about the topics highlighted in this session, view the interview above.

For more on recent data and dermatology news, view the the 

latest coverage of Fall Clinical Dermatology

Shahriari has previously reported personal fees from AbbVie, Apogee, Arcutis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dermavant, Galderma, Incyte, Johnson & Johnson, LEO, Lilly USA, Novartis, Ortho Dermatologics, Regeneron, Sanofi-Genzyme, Takeda, and UCB and has served as a speaker for AbbVie, Arcutis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Dermavant, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly USA, Pfizer, Regeneron, Sanofi-Genzyme, and UCB. She has also served as an investigator for AbbVie, Cara, CorEvitas Atopic Dermatitis Registry, CorEvitas Psoriasis Registry, Dermavant, Dermira, Lilly USA, Mindera, Novartis, and Unio.

Shahriari M, Kwatra S, et al. CME Satellite Symposium: Illuminate the Role of IL-13 Inhibitors for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis. Session presentation at the 2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct 23-26, 2025.

Gonçalves F, Freitas E, Torres T. Selective IL-13 inhibitors for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. Drugs Context. 2021 Mar 30;10:2021-1-7. 

Videos

In this segment of her Fall Clinical interview, Shahriari highlights a session IL-13 inhibition and management of atopic dermatitis.

2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference

 team sat down with Mona Shahriari, MD, regarding her conference talk titled ‘ Seeing Clearly: A Visual Guide to Diagnosing Prurigo Nodularis in Skin of Color.’

Shahriari, known for her work as associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University and the host of 

 podcast, was asked about the major takeaways from her session on prurigo nodularis. Shahriari touched on several clinical pearls and recent data on inflammatory skin disease, a condition characterized by intensely pruritic nodules.

A Visual Guide to Diagnosing Prurigo Nodularis in Skin of Color, With Mona Shahriari, MD

“A couple of pearls that people can hopefully take away from our talk is that the itch of [prurigo nodularis] tends to be much more deep and intense in our patients of all skin types, but more so in our patients with skin of color,” Shahriari explained. “[This is] because pruritus is a bigger factor in those individuals, transdermal water loss, lower amounts of ceramides in the stratum corneum, as well as large mast cells in the skin of our skin of color patients just makes them more susceptible to pruritus.”

Shahriari highlighted prurigo nodularis’s characteristic unrelenting itch and the inflammation felt especially by patients with skin of color.

“The other thing we talked about was the post-inflammatory pigmentary changes that come with PN in patients from a variety of skin tones, and why it's so important for us to intervene early, because prevention is always easier than going back and playing catch-up and trying to treat,” Shahriari said. “Lastly, we emphasized the importance of considering PN as not just a skin disease, but a systemic condition, because there's new data actually coming out that the inflammation of PN can actually cause kidney issues.”

Shahriari noted, historically, clinicians viewed kidney disease as a comorbidity and believed having it might set off prurigo nodularis. Now, however, the inflammation related to prurigo nodularis is believed to actually cause issues in the body.

“We also went through the therapeutic landscape, dupilumab and nemolizumab, both FDA-approved for the treatment of PN across skin types,” Shahriari said. “Both studies actually enrolled a fair number of skin of color patients, which is really reminiscent of what is going on in the space with respect to the overall prevalence of the disease in a variety of skin tones; it is three to four times more common in skin of color. So it's really nice that they were able to capture that in the clinical trial studies. Both drugs work exceptionally well for this disease.”

For more information on this session, view the interview posted above.

Shahriari M, Kwatra S, et al. Seeing Clearly: A Visual Guide to Diagnosing Prurigo Nodularis in Skin of Color. Session presentation at the 2025 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct 23-26, 2025.

Liao V, Cornman HL, Ma E, Kwatra SG. Prurigo nodularis: new insights into pathogenesis and novel therapeutics. Br J Dermatol. 2024 May 17;190(6):798-810. 

This interview at Fall Clinical highlights a session on clinical pearls related to diagnosing prurigo nodularis in patients with skin of color.

The Medical Sisterhood: Leadership and Sisterhood in Dermatology, With Neda Shahriari, MD

, host Mona Shahriari, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale University School of Medicine and associate director of clinical trials at Central Connecticut Dermatology Research, welcomes her real-life sister, Neda Shahriari, MD, dermatologist and associate physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School. Together, the 2 leaders in the field offered an honest look at their parallel journeys in 

, the realities of balancing professional and personal life, and the importance of mentorship among women physicians.

The sisters begin by reflecting on their paths into medicine. Mona Shahriari knew early on that she wanted to become a doctor, while Neda Shahriari explored other healthcare fields before ultimately finding dermatology to be the ideal combination of visual learning, patient care, and immunologic science. Although she initially resisted following in her sister’s footsteps, Neda Shahriari eventually discovered that the specialty was the right fit on her own terms.

Their conversation moves into the challenges of navigating careers in medicine while raising young children. Both had their first children within days of each other, an experience that allowed them to share the unique physical, emotional, and logistical challenges of pregnancy, maternity leave, and returning to practice. They discuss how that shared experience provided a source of understanding and support, helping them manage demanding clinic schedules while maintaining their well-being and patient care standards.

Mona and Neda Shahriari also delve into the concept of mentorship—particularly the idea of sisterhood-based mentorship that emphasizes mutual support and growth over hierarchy. They highlight the value of building trusted, collaborative relationships where women can learn from one another through shared experiences. Neda Shahriari offers insights into forming these professional “chosen sisterhoods” early in residency or at conferences by connecting with mentors and peers who align with one’s values and goals.

The episode also includes lighter moments, with anecdotes about being mistaken for one another at meetings and the everyday advantages of having a sibling in the same specialty. Through humor and candid reflection, the 2 speakers shed light on the shared realities of women in dermatology while underscoring the value of professional connection, collaboration, and community in medicine.

Want to join The Medical Sisterhood community? Click here to join our LinkedIn Group!

In this episode, sisters and dermatologists Mona and Neda Shahriari discuss mentorship, motherhood, and the meaning of sisterhood in medicine.

2025 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress

 editorial team spoke to Mona Shahriari, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University and host of The Medical Sisterhood podcast, about which findings released at EADV were among the most significant in dermatology.

Shahriari spoke generally about the meeting and then went into depth about the treatment data that she felt showed significance for different disease states. First, Shahriari touched on the 24-week interim data from the pivotal phase 3 STOP-HS program, highlighting povorcitinib therapy’s meaningful and statistically significant 

 improvements observed among adults ≥18 years.

Discussing New Data on Treating HS, Psoriasis at EADV 2025 Congress, With Mona Shahriari, MD

“I feel like we went from having nothing in the HS toolbox to now actually having some options that we can talk to our patients about,” Shahriari said. “And what's been most exciting for me is that there was a huge HS session yesterday, and the room was packed with individuals who are trying to learn about this disease, a disease that, historically, we haven't really taken great ownership of in the derm space. We knew our patients had the disease, but we didn't have a lot of options to offer them.”

These new data on povorcitinib, a highly selective oral JAK1 inhibitor, were touched on by Shahriari as notable, with the medication described as a potential first-in-class drug if approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for HS.

“It just offers a different modality to deliver the drug to our patients,” Shahriari explained. “Because with HS, one of the biggest challenges is one we don't fully understand: the pathophysiology. There are so many different cytokines and inflammatory markers, and I think that's partly why the treatments that we've had thus far have helped, but nothing has been effective as a monotherapy and [hasn’t] offered that slam dunk resolution of symptoms. So hopefully, a JAK inhibitor, by virtue of targeting multiple cytokines, might offer us a little bit more flexibility in terms of targeting more of the aspects that contribute to the disease.”

Shahriari later highlighted findings released during EADV regarding icotrokinra, Johnson & Johnson’s first-in-class investigational targeted oral IL-23 inhibitor. In 1 such study, the drug was observed in the ICONIC-LEAD study to be superior to deucravacitinib (Sotyktu) for skin clearance attainment at Weeks 16 and 24 in those with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

“We have had an explosion of injectables in the psoriasis landscape since the turn of the century, but the evolution and innovation and the oral arena had been lacking until recently,” Shahriari said. “We've had a couple of newer agents that were undergoing trials, but really, icotrokinra is a little bit different. It's an oral peptide that actually targets the IL-23 receptor…Now we're targeting it a little bit differently, and what comes with that targeted look at this pathway is that we're seeing biologic-like efficacy of the drug.”

For any additional information on related topics in the dermatology space, view our latest coverage of the conference.

Smith T. Povorcitinib Improves Moderate to Severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa at Week 24. HCPLive. September 17, 2025. Accessed September 25, 2025. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/povorcitinib-improves-moderate-severe-hidradenitis-suppurativa-week-24

Campbell P. ICONIC-ADVANCE: Icotrokinra Beats Deucravacitinib for Plaque Psoriasis. HCPLive. September 17, 2025. Accessed September 25, 2025. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/iconic-advance-icotrokinra-bests-deucravacitinib-for-plaque-psoriasis

This interview at EADV 2025 features Mona Shahriari, MD, who highlighted recent findings on the drugs icotrokinra and povorcitinib in dermatology.

Mona Shahriari, MD, FAAD

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