Ruth Ann Vleugels, MD, MPH, MBA is Vice Chair for Academic Affairs of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Department of Dermatology. She serves as the Director of the Autoimmune Skin Disease Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Co-Director of the Rheumatology-Dermatology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Vleugels developed and serves as the Program Director of the Brigham and Women's Hospital Dermatology-Rheumatology Fellowship, which is the only formal training opportunity of its kind nationwide. She is Director of the Immunity in Defense and Disease Course at Harvard Medical School and has won multiple teaching and mentoring awards. An international expert in autoimmune connective tissue diseases, Dr. Vleugels’ clinical research focuses on rare autoimmune skin diseases and emerging medical therapies.