The history of my clinical and research interests demonstrates the diversity of background that I bring to each and every patient and research project. My father was a Greek immigrant to the United States and I am a first generation American. This explains my first name "Zoe," which means "life" in Greek. Perhaps this name embodies my contagious enthusiasm! My first love was music, which I studied initially in college. I still carry my love of rhythm and tone, but moved to a major in Mechanical Engineering where I graduated summa cum laude and won the American Society of Mechanical Engineers paper competition. After this, I was selected as one of the first class of females to receive a Rhodes Scholarship and headed to medical school. I learned my first research skills during this time and elected to pursue a residency in dermatology. I continued my research during dermatology residency and moved to North Carolina with my husband in August 1987. In October 1987, I passed my dermatology boards and became a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. I was elected Vice-President of the American Academy of Dermatology some 25 years later in March of 2012.
Following our move to North Carolina, I was in clinical practive for 10 years honing my dermatology skills. However, the birth of my two sons required a different practice environment and I opened my own dermatology clinic with a separate suite where my sons were close at hand. All during this time, I realized that I missed the challenge of research and the novel critical thought that research requires. I expanded Dermatology Consulting Services at this time and opened a free-standing research facility that has grown to 33,000 square feet. This facility now houses of all our research activities providing the administration of unique studies, but also allowing us to serve as a site for larger multi-center FDA trials. Our facility allows for the conduct of FDA Phase I, II, III, and IV studies, as well as both large and small cosmetic trials.