photograph courtesy memphis dermatology clinic
Top Doctor Spotlight
Editor's Note: Every year, the national medical group Castle Connolly produces a list of the best doctors in America. In the Memphis area, the 2022 Top Doctors list comprises more than 300 physicians representing 60 different specialties. Here, we introduce you to one of the care-givers who have been named a Top Doc time and again.
“I always looked up to him, I was fascinated by him, and when I grew up, I wanted to be just like him.” That’s Dr. Gwen Beard, talking about her father, Dr. Harry Blumenfeld, a prominent Memphis rheumatologist. So she set on her career path, first earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology at the University of Tennessee and then following her husband-to-be to Kentucky, where she earned her medical degree from the University of Louisville.
While in med school, she discovered her special interest in dermatology. “It appealed to me because it’s kind of like solving a puzzle,” she says. “A lot of internal disease will have external manifestations, so there’s a lot of crossover with other fields of medicine. I knew I could help patients get to where they needed to be.”
Beard returned to UT for her internship and residency, then earned a fellowship to the University of Pennsylvania, where she trained under the noted dermatological surgeon, Dr. Leonard Dzubow. “He was a great teacher and mentor,” she says, “and he taught me a lot about what it takes to be a good doctor.”
In 1999, she returned to Memphis and joined Memphis Dermatology Clinic. Beard became a specialist in Mohs surgery, a pioneering micro-surgical technique that has become the gold standard for treating certain types of skin cancer. This condition is a particularly common problem in the South, she says, “because people spend a lot of time outdoors, and they don’t use sunscreen, or they use it improperly.” Other factors are the use of tanning beds and the depletion of the ozone layer.
“Dermatology appealed to me because it’s kind of like solving a puzzle. A lot of internal disease will have external manifestations, so there’s a lot of crossover with other fields of medicine. I knew I could help patients get to where they needed to be.” — Dr. Gwen Beard
During her career, Beard has noted significant advances in immunotherapy drugs, which can ward off psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and other auto-immune disorders. “Because of these developments, people don’t suffer the pain or embarrassment of these conditions,” she says, “and we’re even looking at other drugs that are promising good treatment for melanoma.”
Technological advances include new uses of laser and light therapy to treat tumors, birthmarks, unwanted hair, and acne scarring. Researchers are also exploring new procedures that could someday mean the removal of tumors without cutting into the skin. “So all this means an exciting time for the field of dermatology,” she says.
In 2016, Beard made a significant move. She joined four other dermatologists — all of them female — at Memphis Dermatology to purchase the clinic that had first opened in 1972. While still maintaining the Midtown location at Union and Kimbrough, in November 2020 they opened a state-of-the-art branch in East Memphis.
“More and more women are working in dermatology,” she says. “It’s a nice lifestyle because you can work full-time and still have a family, without constantly dealing with emergencies.” A medical crisis might involve post-operative bleeding, but that’s rare.
“I find this field offers the full package,” Beard says. “The patients are interesting and come from all lifestyles,” noting her clinic draws from Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri. “I think we have a really great team here, and it’s a great place to be.”
