About

Taraneh Paravar, M.D., is a Clinical Professor of Dermatology at UC San Diego. Her research and clinical work focus on dermatological conditions, including photodistributed hyperpigmentation, lupus, dermatomyositis, psoriasis, and adverse dermatologic effects related to medications such as hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 vaccines. She has contributed to the understanding of various skin manifestations associated with systemic diseases and treatments, and her publications include case reports, systematic reviews, and clinical studies in dermatology. Her work also involves evaluating the dermatologic effects of immunomodulatory therapies and vaccines, as well as exploring the pathophysiology of complex dermatologic conditions. She has collaborated with researchers across multiple institutions, including UCSF, UCLA, and UC Davis, and has a significant publication record derived from MEDLINE/PubMed sources. Her research interests encompass dermatology in the context of systemic diseases, drug reactions, and emerging therapies, contributing to the advancement of clinical dermatology and translational research in her field.

Research topics

• Dermatology
• Medicine
• Intensive care medicine
• Internal medicine
• Pathology

Selected publications

• Delusions of Parasitosis in Dermatology Residency Education: A Survey Outcome Study of a Targeted Didactic on Prescribing Antipsychotics (Preprint)

  2025-12-13

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  <sec> <title>BACKGROUND</title> Delusions of parasitosis (DP), a somatic delusion involving false beliefs of infestation, frequently presents in dermatologic rather than psychiatric settings. While antipsychotics are the cornerstone of treatment, most dermatologists report discomfort with prescribing them, and psychopharmacology is not routinely taught in dermatology training. </sec> <sec> <title>OBJECTIVE</title> The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a brief, targeted educational video on dermatology residents’ knowledge and confidence in managing DP with antipsychotics. </sec> <sec> <title>METHODS</title> Residents from dermatology programs across the United States were recruited to watch our video didactic and complete pre- and post-test surveys to assess objective knowledge and subjective preparedness. </sec> <sec> <title>RESULTS</title> Twenty-four residents completed the study. Results showed significant improvements in both objective and subjective domains: mean knowledge scores increased from 1.83 to 4.42 out of 5 (P &lt; 0.001, Cohen’s d = 2.45), and Likert-rated confidence in managing DP and understanding prescribing considerations increased with large effect sizes (r &gt; 0.75). </sec> <sec> <title>CONCLUSIONS</title> These findings support the integration of psychopharmacology into dermatology residency curricula to improve care accessibility for patients with psychocutaneous disorders. </sec>

  PublisherDOI

• Chronic photodistributed hyperpigmented patches in a middle-aged man

  JAAD Case Reports · 2025-09-23

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Physician Opinions on Artificial Intelligence Chatbots In Dermatology: A National Online Cross-Sectional Survey of Dermatologists

  Journal of Drugs in Dermatology · 2024-10-01 · 9 citations

  articleOpen access

  BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence chatbots (AIC) have sharply risen in popularity. Dermatology, heavily involving visual, clinical, and pathological pattern-recognition techniques, will be impacted by AIC. Thus, this study aims to categorize the attitudes and beliefs of American dermatologists towards AIC and their potential uses, benefits, and risks. METHODS: An online cross-sectional survey was distributed to dermatologists across the United States. Questions explored opinions on AIC along with perceived benefits, risks, and important considerations for the incorporation of AIC into the practice of dermatology. Demographic data and self-reported understanding of AIC were also collected. RESULTS: 192 complete responses were received. 53.6% of respondents were female. 44.3% were between ages 30 to 39. 41.1% had 0 to 10 years of experience as attending physicians. 76.5% of participants believed it is somewhat or very likely that AIC will be formally incorporated into dermatology. Higher self-reported understanding of AIC was associated with an increased perceived likelihood of AIC implementation as well as decreased perceived risk associated with AIC. Notably, 86% of respondents believed AIC would impact "patient education," while concerns regarding "misinformation" and "incorrect diagnoses" were prevalent (89% and 78.5%, respectively). Participants anticipated AIC's role primarily in administrative tasks, with 75.7% citing "reduced work burden on physicians" as a potential benefit. CONCLUSION: Dermatologists in the United States foresee the integration of AIC into their practice, emphasizing its potential in administrative roles. Concerns revolve around the complexity of medical understanding and effective patient communication. As AIC continues to evolve, ongoing studies are crucial to evaluate their safety and efficacy in dermatological practice. J Drugs Dermatol. 2024;23(11):972-978. doi:10.36849/JDD.8239.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• JAAD Case Reports Article List

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2023

  • Medicine
  • Dermatology
  PublisherDOI

• Progressively worsening painful sclerotic calf plaques

  JAAD Case Reports · 2023

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Dermatology
  • Pathology

  A 48-year-old woman presented with painful, bound-down plaques of the calves and buttock.She reported previous injection of cooking oil into her calves and buttocks when she was held captive by human traffickers as a teenager.She initially developed skin hardening in injected areas in 2005, and since 2018 has had worsening of these plaques, flares of swelling, and pain.X-rays revealed calcinosis, soft tissue thickening, and calcified granuloma formation.Pathology revealed sclerotic fibrosis with innumerable vacuoles, focal dystrophic bone formation, and foreign-body giant cells.Ultimately, she required surgical excision of her poorly defined bilateral gluteal plaques with subsequent improvement in pain.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Evaluating risk of bullous pemphigoid after <scp>mRNA COVID</scp> ‐19 vaccination

  British Journal of Dermatology · 2022-03-13 · 16 citations

  letterOpen access

  Dear Editor, Approximately 3·3 billion people across the globe are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, there remains a significant proportion of populations who are experiencing vaccine hesitancy, for reasons that can include concern about vaccine-induced autoimmunity. Bullous pemphigoid, the most common autoimmune blistering skin disease, has been reported as a rare side-effect of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.1, 2 Proposed mechanisms involve nonspecific bystander immune activation, molecular mimicry, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, a novel consequence of mRNA vaccine technology.1, 2 In this study, we evaluated the relationship between de novo development of bullous pemphigoid and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in a large global health research network. We performed a retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX analytics network (trinetx.com; Cambridge, MA, USA), a federated health research network that aggregates health records from 63 healthcare organizations, compromising 70 million patients. We included people ≥18 years of age who between 15 December 2020 and 15 June 2021 received either a first or second dose of the Moderna (mRNA-1273) or Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) vaccine (cases) or were diagnosed with acne, seborrhoeic keratosis or melanocytic naevi and had no history of COVID-19 vaccination (controls). We agreed that diagnoses included in the control cohort were to be conditions with no known association with bullous pemphigoid. Multiple diagnoses were included to increase cohort size for robust propensity matching. Data collection was performed in December 2021 to ensure all participants had an opportunity for 24 weeks of follow-up. New-onset bullous pemphigoid (ICD-10 code L12·0) related to mRNA COVID-19 vaccine administration was defined as the first-ever diagnosis occurring within 24 weeks. People with pemphigus vulgaris (ICD-10 code L10·0) were excluded from both cohorts to increase the positive predictive value of bullous pemphigoid diagnosis·3 We balanced the cohorts using 1 : 1 greedy, nearest-neighbour propensity score, matching by age, sex, race, ethnicity, neurological disease (Parkinson disease, demyelinating disease, other degenerative disorders of the nervous system), psychiatric disease (mood disorders, schizophrenia), cerebral infarction and malignancy, as well as use of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (linagliptin, alogliptin, sitagliptin, saxagliptin), checkpoint inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, ipilimumab), loop diuretics and spironolactone. Two dermatologists, who were experienced in evaluating bullous pemphigoid, independently agreed on risk factors, based on literature review, to be included in the propensity-matched analysis.4, 5 Given that participants may have been vaccinated outside of the healthcare organizations included in the database, a subgroup analysis was performed against a historical cohort compromised of individuals who received the control diagnoses between 1 January 2020 and 1 December 2020, to assess risk in a population wherein COVID-19 vaccination was not available. Using the matched cohorts, we calculated the relative risk (RR) of first appearance of bullous pemphigoid in the 24 weeks after index events in the respective cohorts. All statistical analyses were performed within TriNetX. We identified 1 540 234 people who received a dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The mean (standard deviation) age in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine cohort was 54·7 (18·5) years, 13% of participants were black, 64% were white, 10% were Hispanic or Latino and 6% were Asian. Prior to matching, the crude incidence of bullous pemphigoid within 24 weeks of mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was 0·004% (57 of 1 539 720). After 1 : 1 propensity matching, demographic and clinical characteristics were balanced (standard deviation <0·1). No difference in risk of new-onset bullous pemphigoid was observed among participants receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine within 24 weeks compared to either the control cohort (RR 0·77, 95% confidence interval 0·37–1·57) or the historical cohort (RR 0·55, 95% confidence interval 0·30–1·02) (Table 1). Our results suggest mRNA COVID-19 vaccination is not associated with increased risk of new-onset bullous pemphigoid. We hope that healthcare professionals may use the findings reported herein to counsel patients experiencing vaccine hesitancy over concerns of de novo autoimmunity. Our study has limitations to consider when interpreting the results. Firstly, our study reports on the risk of new-onset bullous pemphigoid and does not offer insight regarding whether vaccination can cause a flare or an exacerbation of the disease. In addition, risk of bullous pemphigoid may differ between the first or second dose of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or by Moderna vs. Pfizer vaccination, but we did not investigate this in our report. Other limitations to consider include the use of population data, which have inherent misclassification bias from the use of ICD codes. We cannot ascertain completeness of electronic medical records. Lastly, participants may have developed bullous pemphigoid without seeking care. Morgan Birabaharan: Conceptualization (equal); data curation (equal); formal analysis (equal); investigation (equal); methodology (equal); supervision (equal); visualization (equal); writing – original draft (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). David C Kaelber: Project administration (equal); resources (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). Charisse M Orme: Methodology (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). Taraneh Paravar: Methodology (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). Maile Young Karris: Supervision (equal); writing – review and editing (equal). The data that support the findings of this study are available from TriNetX Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for this study. Data are available MB with the permission of TriNetX

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A crack in the armor: Wolf isotopic response manifesting as cutaneous lupus

  Dermatology Online Journal · 2022-12-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Wolf isotopic response represents the development of skin lesions of one particular morphology occurring at the same site as another morphologically distinct and unrelated skin lesion. Cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) is an autoimmune connective tissue disorder encompassing a wide range of phenotypes that may be associated with systemic involvement. Although CLE is a well-described entity with a broad spectrum, the occurrence of lesions manifesting as an isotopic response is rare. We present a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus who developed CLE in a dermatomal distribution following herpes zoster. When CLE lesions present in a dermatomal distribution, these cases may be difficult to distinguish from recurrent herpes zoster infection in an immunosuppressed patient. Therefore, they pose a diagnostic challenge and require balancing antiviral therapy with immunosuppression to sufficiently maintain adequate control of the autoimmune disease while addressing possible infections. To avoid treatment delay, clinicians should have elevated suspicion for an isotopic response when disparate lesions erupt in areas previously affected by herpes zoster or in cases of persistent eruptions at sites of prior herpes zoster. We discuss this case within the context of Wolf isotopic response and review the literature for similar cases.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• LB760 Statin use in patients with pre-existing inflammatory myopathies

  Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 2021-08-19

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Characterizing the adverse dermatologic effects of hydroxychloroquine: A systematic review

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2020 · 107 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Medicine
  • Dermatology
  • Intensive care medicine
  PublisherDOI

• Response to: “Dermatologic manifestations of hydroxychloroquine therapy: A closer look at the nails”

  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology · 2020-05-18

  letterSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Brian Hinds

  5 shared

• Tiffany Y. Loh

  Oakland University

  3 shared

• Wiggin Wu Lee

  University of California, San Diego

  2 shared

• Sharon R. Hymes

  The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

  2 shared

• Mònica Gumà

  University of California, San Diego

  2 shared

• Basil Patel

  University of Florida

  2 shared

• Victoria P. Werth

  Philadelphia VA Medical Center

  2 shared

• Robert W. Baloh

  2 shared

Education

• M.D.

  University of California, San Diego

  2007

• B.S.

  University of California, San Diego

  2003