Gary A. Dyer, MD the Dermatology Foundation's
2004 Practitioner of the Year

Gary A. Dyer, MD, a private-practice dermatologist-dermatopathologist in St. Joseph, MO for 30 years and a member of the clinical dermatology faculty at the University of Missouri Health Sciences Center in Columbia, MO, is the Dermatology Foundation's 2004 Practitioner of the Year for his outstanding contributions to all of dermatology. The Award was established by the Dermatology Foundation in 1976 and is given each year to a member of the specialty who demonstrates exemplary service as a practitioner, teacher and researcher.

Dr. Dyer was honored as 2004 Practitioner of the Year during the Dermatology Foundation's Annual Meeting on Saturday, February 19, 2005, during the AAD Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Dyer holds a B.S. in education from Central Missouri State University and received his M.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine where he also did his residency. He was partially supported by a National Institutes of Health grant during his second and third year of residency, was chief resident, and subsequently received his board certification in dermatology and special competence certification in dermatopathology.

In the many letters of nomination written by his colleagues, there are several recurring themes. Dr. Dyer is described as being a dermatologist who is devoted to his patients – having decided to establish his practice in an underserved area of Missouri and in 1985, organizing the first free skin cancer screening clinic in St. Joseph. He began his teaching career in the early '60s as an instructor of high school biology. Today, as a dermatologist, Dr. Dyer is described as "an exceptional and enthusiastic teacher" of medical students and dermatology residents, as well as of his colleagues through instruction at continuing medical education symposia. He is also cited as a mentor: "Dr Dyer…freely shared advice [with me] on starting up a solo private practice. His willingness to mentor young dermatologists is but one example of his honest concern for his fellow dermatologist."

Throughout his career, Dr. Dyer has been involved in local, state and national medical and dermatological affairs. From his county medical society to the American Medical Association, Dr. Dyer has been an active and effective officer and delegate, and in fact, is one of the few dermatologists to serve as president of his state medical association. He began his activism in dermatology through the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) in 1985 as the state coordinator of the AAD's Skin Cancer Detection Program. Since then, he has served on numerous committees, including the Advisory Board, and the Ethics and Nominating Committees, and has chaired the Member Services Committee and Risk Management Task Force. In February 2005, he will become the first chairman of the Academy's newly-created Council on Member Services. Moreover, Dr. Dyer is a philanthropist giving his time and exceptional generosity to the University of Missouri-Columbia Medical School Foundation where he served as president and helped establish a dermatology endowment fund as well as a dermatology research fund. His exceptional generosity extends to the Dermatology Foundation where he is a member of the Annenberg Circle and its Committee. In that leadership role, Dr. Dyer asks his colleagues and peers to join him in this $25,000 lifetime commitment to benefit all of dermatology.

One of Dr. Dyer's nominators encapsulates the breadth and depth of his career in this way: "As a solo practitioner of dermatology who combines patient care in the private practice setting with a major degree of involvement in organizations representing and benefiting his specialty, Dr. Dyer is an outstanding role model for young dermatologists in practice to emulate."

The Dermatology Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, was created in 1964 by a group of concerned dermatologists to advance patient care by developing the research and teaching careers of the next generation of medical and surgical dermatologists. Second only to the federal government as a source of funding for dermatologic research that addresses both medical and surgical practice concerns, the DF is supported by contributions from individual members of the specialty and the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and surgical industries to support its broad-based programs.