The Arnold P. Gold Foundation has named Wayne State University School of Medicine student Peter Dimitrion a 2024 Gold Student Summer Fellow.

The Gold Foundation offers Gold Student Summer Fellowships annually to provide opportunities for medical students to deepen their understanding of health inequities, to advance culturally responsive care and to direct attention toward community health needs.

This year, 13 fellows representing seven medical school will spearhead summer projects that amplify humanistic health care and address health inequities through service and research projects that involve direct interaction with patients and community members.

Mirroring WSU’s own Prosperity Agenda, which includes students like Dimitrion playing a vital role in addressing health disparities to build more resilient neighborhoods, the projects train students to become discerning and human-centered physicians while also answering the call for public health initiatives in underserved populations.

Dimitrion is enrolled in the School of Medicine’s M.D./Ph.D. dual-degree program. He is in the clinical third year of the program. 

(Learn more about the M.D./Ph.D. program at https://www.med.wayne.edu/admissions/application/degree-programs.)

His service project will address the need for more effective mental health care for patients diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa, or HS, an inflammatory skin disease with a prevalence of 1% to 4% nationally and globally.

“I feel honored and excited. I’m actively doing a lot of translational and basic science research on hidradenitis suppurativa but have always been looking for ways to impact the lives of patients outside new diagnostics or therapeutics. So I’m excited that I’ll finally get a chance to do that,” he said. “The fellowship lasts from July to October, but we want to make this something that lasts much longer. This is essentially the first step.”

Patients with HS experience significant impacts on their quality of life and have high rates of psychosocial comorbidities. The prevalence of HS is higher in patients from historically underserved populations and has a strong female bias. Patients with HS report higher rates of mental health issues, substance abuse and suicide, and in a global survey study identified mental health care as a significant unmet need.

His project mentor is Professor and Residency Program Director of Dermatology Steven Daveluy, M.D. '08, Res. '12.

"I couldn't be happier to work with Peter on this project.  Hidradenitis suppurativa has a profound impact on mental health and wellbeing.  Unfortunately, patients often have to spend time educating their providers, including mental health providers, about the disease and how all the ways it impacts daily living, which creates another burden for patients," Dr. Daveluy said. "Peter is perfect for this project, as he has done extensive research in hidradenitis, while also working with patients in clinic and our patient support group, Hope for HS. He understands the science while also appreciating the humanistic aspects of this devastating disease.  I am really looking forward to this important project and the tremendous benefits that patients with HS will see from the fruits of this labor."

The project will seek to address the importance of more effective mental health care for patients with HS by better defining patient needs, developing resources for patients and mental health care specialists, and connecting patients with specialists who have been trained with key resources.

“We’re developing resources to help physicians and mental health specialists provide more effective mental health care to patients with hidradenitis suppurativa in the form of a continuing medical education module. What is unique about the way we’re doing this is that my project seeks to integrate real patient perspectives and experiences into this," Dimitrion said.