Michel Gilliet, M.D., is a Head of the Dermatology Department at the University Hospital CHUV in Lausanne, Switzerland. He completed his dermatology training at the University of Zurich and received research training in immunology at the DNAX Research Institute in Palo Alto, California. In 2004, Dr. Gilliet was recruited by MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where he held clinical appointments in Dermatology, as well as basic and translational science appointments in Melanoma Oncology and Immunology.

In 2010, Dr. Gilliet returned to Switzerland as a Full Professor and Head of the Dermatology Department in Lausanne. His research primarily focuses on immune responses in inflammatory skin diseases. His laboratory has notably uncovered mechanisms by which dendritic cells initiate and sustain skin inflammation by sensing DNA in complex with antimicrobial peptides. These groundbreaking studies have led to a paradigm shift in understanding how inflammation is regulated in injured skin and in diseases such as psoriasis and lupus erythematosus. More recently, his lab has expanded its research to include the application of molecular omics technologies in clinical dermatology practice, providing a new framework for diagnosing and treating skin diseases.

Dr. Gilliet’s research has led to over 140 publications and garnered 30,000 citations, with his work regularly featured in prestigious journals such as Nature, Science, Nature Immunology, Nature Medicine, and Nature Communications.

Dr. Gilliet has served as President of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) and is currently President of the Skin Science Foundation. He also serves on the Board of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), where he chairs the Scientific Program. In recognition of his contributions to medical research, he received the Cloetta Prize, Switzerland’s most prestigious medical research award, in 2016. In 2023, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in Germany.