Lisa Michelle Arkin MD

Lisa Michelle Arkin is an Associate Professor and Director of Pediatric Dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She specializes in using the laser to treat patients with vascular stains, often called port-wine birthmarks.

Dr. Arkin first became interested in working with lasers when an infant came in desperately ill from an infected infantile hemangioma, a rare complication in a common benign vascular birthmark. The girl was only 5 weeks old, and survived the infection, but was left with permanent facial scarring.

Dr. Arkin searched for a way to help this young patient and ended up training with specialists at Harvard to learn a state-of-the-art laser treatment for patients with scarring.

Now, Dr. Arkin is pushing the boundaries of laser treatment by combining it with new research that shows that vascular stains like birthmarks and port-wine stains are caused by the same genetic changes that cause cancer. The experimental treatment will use genetic testing to develop a personalized treatment plan for each patient. She is hopeful to eventually combine targeted topical drug therapy with a personalized laser plan for each patient in a clinical trial. Dr. Arkin’s research will enroll patients who meet specific criteria. This research is financially supported by philanthropy and patient-advocacy organizations, including the Sturge Weber Foundation, the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance, and the Dermatology Foundation.