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International Psoriasis Council

Advancing Knowledge. Improving Care.

Akimichi Morita, with straight, shoulder-length gray hair and glasses, wears a dark pinstripe suit, white shirt, and patterned tie while speaking against a plain light background.

Akimichi

Morita

,

MD, PhD

Director and Professor
Nagoya City University West Medical Center and Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences
Nagoya
,
Japan
Councilor Since: October 1, 2015
IPC Board Member
Professor Akimichi Morita graduated from Nagoya City University and received his MD in 1989. He subsequently earned his PhD in basic immunology from the Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya. As a Humboldt Foundation Fellow, he studied photobiology and photoimmunology at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany. He later pursued further training at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, United States.

Since then, he has played a leading role in introducing and establishing standard phototherapies in Japan. He was appointed Professor and Chairman of the Department of Geriatric and Environmental Dermatology at Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences in 2003. He has also served as Vice Director of Nagoya City University Hospital and Vice President of Nagoya City University.

From April 2026, he serves as Director of Nagoya City University West Medical Center, while continuing his professorship at the Graduate School of Medical Sciences. His primary research interests include photobiology, phototherapy, cutaneous immunology, skin aging, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and psoriasis.

Professor Morita served as President of the Japanese Society for Psoriasis Research (2022–2026) and has been a Board Member of the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) since 2023. He also served as President of the Japanese Society for Photomedicine and Photobiology (2018–2022) and the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (JSID) (2017–2020).

He is an editorial board member of several prestigious medical journals. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Dermatology until December 2025. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine (2018–2021) and the Journal of Dermatological Science (2008–2013).

In addition, he has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles (H-index: 58) and authored or co-authored 26 books and book chapters.
Last Updated:
04/16/2026

Areas of Interest

Mechanism of Action Operative for Phototherapy

IPC Committees / Groups

Asia-Pacific Region Steering Committee, Board Member, Generalized Pustular Psoriasis (GPP) Working Group, Symposia Committee

Languages Spoken

English, Japanese

What's New

Remembering Dr. Craig Leonardi

The International Psoriasis Council (IPC) remembers Dr. Craig Leonardi, founding member and former President, whose research shaped modern psoriasis treatment.

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Look Beyond My Skin: World Psoriasis Day 2026

World Psoriasis Day, observed each year on October 29, was launched by the International Federation of Psoriasis Associations (IFPA) in 2004 to give a voice to the more than 125 million people worldwide living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. To mark this year’s observance, IPC joined the Latin American Society of Psoriasis and Dermoimmunology (SOLAPSO) and the Skin Inflammation and Psoriasis International Network (SPIN) to create a video series around the theme “Look Beyond My Skin,” featuring voices from all three organizations. Missed the videos on social media? Watch the full series on the IPC YouTube channel.

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Thursday, October 29, 2026

Introducing Take Two with IPC: Expert Talks in Two Minutes

Take Two with IPC gives a longer presentation a second life in two minutes. Each video takes an expert talk IPC has already published (a Take Ten recording or a symposium presentation) and condenses the clinical substance. The series launched this month alongside the World Psoriasis Day campaign with four videos on pediatric psoriasis: Psoriasis Look-Alikes and Anti-TNF-α Induced Skin Eruptions with IPC Board Member Amy Paller, MS, MD; Conventional Therapies with IPC Councilor Mona El-Kalioby, MBBCh, MSc, MD; and Phototherapy in Pediatric Psoriasis with Fernando Valenzuela, MD. New Take Two videos will be featured each month, drawn from the Take Ten with IPC library and recordings from IPC symposia, with a link to the full presentation for each.

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Thursday, October 29, 2026

Videos Now Available from the Eczema and Psoriasis Research Incubator

Select presentations from the Eczema and Psoriasis Research Incubator: Cross-Disciplinary Innovation Forum, hosted by the International Eczema Council (IEC) and International Psoriasis Council (IPC) at the 55th Annual European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) Meeting, are now available. Topics include disease endotypes, atopic dermatitis-psoriasis overlap, cardiovascular risk in psoriasis, and genetic susceptibility.

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Monday, October 26, 2026

Sex Differences in Psoriasis

In this Take Ten with IPC video, Juul van den Reek and PhD candidate Liana Barenbrug discuss sex differences in psoriasis, why these distinctions matter, what current research tells us, and which areas should be prioritized in future psoriasis research.

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Thursday, October 1, 2026