Alan Irvine


Alan Irvine

Consultant Dermatologist, Professor

Alan graduated in Medicine from Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) in 1991. In 1998, he was awarded a research doctorate (MD) in Human Genetics, also from QUB. He completed Dermatology Training in Belfast in July 1999, followed by fellowships in Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, and Children’s Memorial Hospital Chicago, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

He was appointed Consultant Dermatologist (Attending Physician) in Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin (CHI at Crumlin) and St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, Ireland in October 2002. The CHI at Crumlin department provides specialist clinics in severe atopic dermatitis, vascular malformations, laser treatments, and genetic skin diseases with more than 10 000 secondary and tertiary paediatric attendances per annum. His adult clinics provide a service for complex atopic dermatitis and genodermatoses.

He is Professor in Dermatology, Trinity College Dublin. His research interests are in epithelial genetics, disease mechanisms in, and therapy of, atopic dermatitis. His work on the genetics of atopic dermatitis with long term collaborative partner Irwin McLean has helped refocus attention on the role of the skin barrier in the pathogenesis of this disease and of allergic disease in general. He is funded by the National Children’s Research Centre and the Wellcome Trust, and has attracted approximately €11M funding to date.

Alan Irvine

Consultant Dermatologist, Professor

Identification of Genes for Childhood Atopic Dermatitis

The NCRC AD case collection is one of the largest in the world, and has been used for identification of many genes involved in AD pathogenesis, including the filaggrin discovery.

Skin Barrier function in Atopic Dermatitis

We have long standing research programs examining skin barrier function in atopic dermatitis. We use non-invasive techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and tape stripping to gain mechanistic and functional insights into AD pathogenesis.

Overgrowth Syndrome and Vascular Anomalies

We provide care for a large cohort of patients with vascular anomalies and overgrowth syndromes. We collaborate with investigators in Belgium on gene identification and with companies developing novel therapies.

Identification of Single Gene Genetic Skin Disorders

For the last two decades we have worked on identification of causal genetic mutations in children with genetic skin disorders.

The list of publications below is automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed. As a result, there may be incorrect or missing publications.

Name:Professor Irwin McLean
DepartmentHuman Genetics
Institution:University of Dundee
Country:UK
Name:Dr Sanja Kezic
DepartmentToxicology
Institution:Academic Medicine Centre Amsterdam
Country:Netherlands
Name:Professor Stephan Weidinger
DepartmentDermatology
Institution:Kiel
Country:Germany

Current Trials & Studies

Study NameStudy TitleStudy TypeSponsorSponsor Type
TREATA randomised clinical trial to assess the treatment safety and efficacy of oral methotrexate (MTX) vs ciclosporin (CyA) in the treatment of severe recalcitrant atopic eczema (AE) in childrenClinical TrialKing’s College London and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation TrustAcademic - Investigator Led
EASEDouble-blind, Randomised, Vehicle-controlled, Phase III, Efficacy and Safety Study with 24-month Open-label Follow-up of Oleogel-S10 in Patients with Inherited Epidermolysis BullosaClinical TrialAmrytIndustry Sponsored
BADBIRBritish Association of Dermatologists Biologic Interventions RegisterNon-Interventional StudyUniversity of ManchesterAcademic - Collaborative Group
AD Real WorldA Real World Evaluation to Describe Resource Use for the Management of Moderate to Severe Atopic Dermatitis in Secondary Care for Children and Adolescents Aged 6 to 17 in the Republic of IrelandNon-Interventional StudySanofiIndustry Sponsored
VADUnderstanding T-Cell Immunity in Atopic Dermatitis Patients: Relevance to Staphylococcal Aureus Vaccine DesignNon-Interventional Study
MEASURE ADGlobal Cross-Sectional Burden-of- Illness Study in Adolescent and Adult Patients with Atopic Dermatitis.Non-Interventional StudyAbbVieIndustry Sponsored
EPIK-P1Retrospective Chart Review Study of Patients with PIK3CA- Related Overgrowth Spectrum (PROS) who have received alpelisib as part of a compassionate use program.Non-Interventional StudyNovartisIndustry Sponsored

Previous Trials & Studies

Study NameStudy TitleStudy TypeSponsorSponsor Type
Eczema & Food AllergyIdentification of Major Susceptibility Genes for Eczema and Food AllergyNon-Interventional Clinical Trial
Whole Exome SequencingWhole exome screening and next generation sequencingNon-Interventional StudyUniversity of DundeeAcademic-Investigator Led
Regional FilaggrinA Study to Investigate Regional Filaggrin ExpressionNon-Interventional Study
DS107E-05A prospective, randomised, vehicle-controlled, double-blind, exploratory clinical trial to assess the efficacy and steroid sparing potential of DGLA cream topically applied to early childhood patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitisClinical TrialAfimmuneIndustry Sponsored
Overgrowth genetics projectsClinical and molecular characterization of PIK3Kinase related Overgrowth SyndromesNon-Interventional StudyCambridge UniversityAcademic-Investigator Led
Vascular malformation projectsClinical and molecular characterization of hyperkeratotic vascular malformationsNon-Interventional StudyUniversité Catholique de LouvainAcademic-Investigator Led
Inflazome CAPSMCC950 and derivatives in CAPS patientsNon-Interventional StudyInflazome Ltd / Trinity College DublinAcademic - Investigator Led
PRiTIClinical, immunologic and microbiologic characterisation of early onset atopic eczema: A study to identify factors in disease initiation, severity, flare and resolution.Non-Interventional Study
APPLESA prospective paediatric study to assess the long-term safety of tacrolimus ointment for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.Non-Interventional Clinical TrialAstellas PharmaIndustry Sponsored
ARQ-092A Phase 1/2 Study of ARQ 092 in Patients With Overgrowth Diseases and Vascular Anomalies With Genetic Alterations of the PI3K/AKT PathwayClinical TrialArquleIndustry Sponsored

    Alan is a former Section Editor of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and an Associate Editor of Allergy, and was the Lead Editor of the 3rd Edition of Harper’s Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology (2011). He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. In 2016 he was awarded a DSc from Queens University Belfast in recognition of his skin barrier research.

    Alan’s international awards include: 2006/2007 Paul Gerson Unna Prize from the German Dermatology Society, 2013 Jerry Dolovich Memorial Lecture (AAAAI), 2015 Dr Sydney Watson Smith Lecture (Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh), 2016 RW Goltz Memorial Lecture (University of Minnesota).

    Other positions and responsibilities:

    • Director of the International Eczema Council
    • Member of the UK TREND collaborative initiative led by the British Association of Dermatology on translational research
    • Executive Committee member of the international TREAT initiative for Registries in Atopic Dermatitis (https://treat-registry-taskforce.org )
    • Medical Director of the Irish Skin Foundation’s Skin registry programme.
    • Scientific Committee Member Debra Ireland
    • Principal Investigator INFANT SFI Centre