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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

Psoriasis: An Expert Global Perspective Is Now Available for Pre-Order

IPC Board Member and Treasurer Joel Gelfand, MD, MSCE, is the editor of a new textbook, Psoriasis: An Expert Global Perspective, now available for preorder from Elsevier. He worked with associate editors IPC President Bruce Strober, MD, PhD; IPC Vice President/President-Elect Claudia de la Cruz, MD; and IPC Chief Medical Officer Peter van de Kerkhof, MD, PhD. Nearly 50 authors from 20 countries contributed 30 chapters covering psoriasis from its earliest descriptions through genetics, immunology, and current therapies, with clinical images of psoriasis across diverse skin tones. All royalties support IPC.

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY

Thursday, September 10, 2026

New Video Resource: Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA)

In this video, IPC Councilor Rodrigo Garcia Salinas, MD, a rheumatologist from Argentina, explains how to recognize psoriatic arthritis early, including why joint pain, how long a patient has had psoriasis, and family history can matter more than skin severity alone. He also reviews how imaging helps catch early disease and how to choose treatment based on each patient’s joint, spine, and skin involvement.

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Friday, September 25, 2026

Take Ten Video: Bridging Psoriasis and Metabolic Comorbidities

IPC President Bruce Strober reviews the link between psoriasis and metabolic disease, drawing on findings from IPC’s recent paper in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD). He translates this growing body of evidence into five concrete priorities from the 2025 IPC Think Tank for improving cardiometabolic screening and care.

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Wednesday, September 9, 2026