Ponciano Cruz, M.D.

Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

Paul R. Bergstresser, M.D., Chair in Dermatology
Distinguished Teaching Professor

Dermatology - General
Contact Dermatitis
Patch Testing for Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Biography

Ponciano Cruz, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He is a Distinguished Teaching Professor and holds the Paul R. Bergstresser, M.D. Endowed Chair in Dermatology. He specializes in contact dermatitis, patch testing for allergic contact dermatitis, and alopecia areata.

Dr. Cruz earned his medical degree at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in Manila, where he graduated cum laude as valedictorian. He completed residencies in internal medicine at Kettering Medical Center (where he served as Chief Resident) and in dermatology at UT Southwestern. He completed a fellowship in immunodermatology at UT Southwestern, as well.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Dermatology, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 1990.

Dr. Cruz serves as Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at UT Southwestern. He is also Chief of the Dermatology Section at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He was the Director of the Dermatology Residency Program at UT Southwestern from 1991 to 2022.

Alongside Kiyoshi Ariizumi, Ph.D., Dr. Cruz co-heads an investigative laboratory that focuses on the discovery and characterization of immunologic molecules that are treatment targets against cancer and inflammatory skin diseases.

He belongs to numerous professional organizations, including those in which he has held the following leadership positions: President of the Society for Investigative Dermatology; President of the Photodermatology Society; and Board Director of the Association of Professors of Dermatology.

He is the Founder of the Dermatology Teachers Exchange Group and was Vice President of the Annenberg Circle of the Dermatology Foundation. For 22 years, Dr. Cruz was Editor-in-Chief of Dermatitis, the home journal of the American Contact Dermatitis Society.

He has delivered scores of presentations, contributed to more than 30 books, and published more than 180 peer-reviewed manuscripts in his research and clinical areas of expertise.

In 2023, Dr. Cruz earned the American Skin Association’s Research Achievement Award in Public Policy and Medical Education.

Personal Note

When he’s not at work, Dr. Cruz enjoys fine dining and exploring poetry and film.

Education & Training

Fellowship - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1987-1989), Dermatology
Fellowship - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1986-1987), Immunodermatology
Residency - UT Southwestern Medical Center (1984-1986), Dermatology
Residency - Kettering Medical Center (1981-1984), Internal Medicine
Internship - Makati Medical Center (1979-1980), Rotating
Medical School - University of the East (1972-1979)

Professional Associations & Affiliations

American Academy of Dermatology
American Contact Dermatitis Society
American Dermatological Association
Association of Professors of Dermatology
Society for Investigative Dermatology

Honors & Awards

Research Achievement Award in Public Policy and Medical Education 2023, American Skin Association
Best Doctor 2020-2023, D Magazine
Thomas G. Pearson Memorial Educational Award 2020, American Academy of Dermatology
Leader in Clinical Excellence Mentoring Award 2019, UT Southwestern Medical Center

Books & Publications

Books
- Photoimmunology in Clinical and Basic Immunodermatology
  Turrentine J, Cruz PD Jr (2017), New York, NY, Springer
- Acanthosis nigricans in Treatment of Skin Disease (5th ed.)
  Feigenbaum LS, Cruz PD Jr (2017), London, England, Elsevier Ltd
- Acanthosis nigricans in Treatment of Skin Disease (3rd ed.)
  Kia KF, Cruz PD Jr (2010), London, England, Elsevier Ltd
- Photoimmunology in Clinical and Basic Immunodermatology
  Hansen C, Leitenberger JJ, Jacobe HT, Cruz PD Jr (2008), London, England, Springer Verlag
- Phototherapy and HIV infection in Dermatological Phototherapy and Photodiagnostic Methods (2nd ed.)
  McDonald H, Cruz PD Jr (2008), Germany, Springer Verlag
- Acanthosis nigricans in Treatment of Skin Disease
  Curry M, Stalkup J, Houpt K, Cruz PD Jr (2005), London, England, Elsevier Ltd.
- Evidenced-based answers to clinical questions in allergic contact dermatitis in Immune Mechanisms in Allergic Contact Dermatitis
  High W, Cruz PD Jr (2004), Landes Bioscence
- Allergic contact dermatitis in Drug-Induced Skin Disease: Mechanisms, Manifestations and Management
  Berman K, Cruz PD Jr (2004), New York, NY, Dekker
- Acanthosis nigricans in Treatment of Skin Disease
  Pote A, Conrad N, Cruz PD Jr (2002), England, Mosby Publishers
- Phototherapy of HIV-infected patients: evidence questioning and addressing safety in Dermatological Phototherapy and Photodiagnostic Methods
  Cruz PD Jr (2001), Germany, Springer Verlag
- The epidermis: an outpost of the immune system in The Biology of the Skin
  Cruz PD Jr (2001), England, Parthenon Publishing
- Allergic skin diseases and contact dermatitis in Clinical Immunology
  Leung DYM, Jacobe H, Cruz PD Jr, Kaplan AP (2001), England, Harcourt Publishers
- Ultraviolet radiation and HIV infection: what do we know and should know? in Biologic Effects of Light 1998
  Cruz PD Jr (1999), Berlin, Germany, Walter de Gruyter
- Contact dermatitis in Dermatology in Primary Care
  Cruz PD Jr (1996), England, W. B. Saunders
- Allergic contact dermatitis, cell-mediated immunity, and Langerhans cell biology in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery
  Cruz PD Jr (1995), England, W.B. Saunders
- Basic mechanisms underlying contact allergy in Handbook of Contact Dermatitis
  Cruz PD Jr (1995), New York, NY, McGraw Hill
- UVB-induced unresponsiveness and tolerance induction: a central role for epidermal Langerhans cells in Photoimmunology - An Update
  Cruz PD Jr (1995), Berlin, Germany, Blackwell Scientific
- Ultraviolet radiation-induced immune suppression in Biologic Effects of Light 1993
  Bergstresser PR, Cruz PD Jr, Ariizumi K, Takashima A (1994), Berlin, Germany, Walter de Gruyter
- Xanthomas in Clinical Dermatology
  Cruz PD Jr (1994), Philadelphia, PA, J.B. Lippincott Co
- Xanthomas and lipoprotein disorders in Current Opinion in Dermatology
  Stetler LD, Cruz PD Jr (1994), Philadelphia, PA, Current Science
- Photoimmunology: effects of UVB radiation on cutaneous photocarcinogenesis and allergic contact sensitivity in Photomedicine for Clinical Dermatologists
  Cruz PD Jr (1993), New York, NY, Marcel Dekker
- Sunburn, photoaging, carcinogenesis, and photosensitivity disease in Conn's Current Therapy
  Cruz PD Jr (1993), Philadelphia, PA, W.B. Saunders Co
- UVB-induced immunosuppression: biologic, cellular, and molecular effects in Advances in Dermatology
  Cruz PD Jr (1993), Chicago, IL, Mosby-Year Book Inc
- Effects of ultraviolet B radiation on induction of cutaneous immune responses in Biologic Effects of Light
  Cruz PD Jr (1992), Berlin, Germany, Walter De Gruyter
- Langerhans cells are initiators of the immunosuppressive effect of ultraviolet B radiation in Springer Seminars in Immunopathology
  Cruz PD Jr (1992), New York, NY, Springer-Verlag
- Photoimmunology in Photosensitivity Diseases
  Cruz PD Jr (1992), New York, NY, Shoin Medical Publishers
- Sunburn, photoaging, carcinogenesis, and photosensitivity disease in Conn’s Current Therapy
  Cruz PD Jr (1992), Philadelphia, PA, W.B. Saunders
- Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation-induced immunosuppression in Photomedicine and Photobiology
  Cruz PD Jr (1992), Kanagawa, Japan, Japanese Society for Photomedicine and Photobiology
- Sensitization and elicitation of inflammation in contact eczema in Pharmacology and the Skin
  Bergstresser PR, Simon JC, Girolomoni G, Tigelaar RE, Cruz PD Jr (1991), Basel, Switzerland, S Kargel
- The influence of ultraviolet B radiation and other physical and chemical agents on epidermal Langerhans cells in Epidermal Langerhans Cells
  Cruz PD Jr, Bergstresser PR (1991), Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press
- UVB-induced immunosuppression is mediated through effects on immunocompetent epidermal cells in Dermatoxicology
  Cruz PD Jr, Bergstresser PR (1991), New York, NY, Hemisphere Publishing
- Antigen processing and presentation by epidermal Langerhans cells: induction of immunity or unresponsiveness in Dermatologic Clinics
  Cruz PD Jr, Bergstresser PR (1990), Philadelphia, PA, W.B. Saunders Co
Publications
- Recognition of non-self polysaccharides by C-type lectin receptors dectin-1 and dectin-2.
  Hollmig ST, Ariizumi K, Cruz PD Jr. Glycobiology 2009 19/6 568-575
- The DC-HIL/syndecan-4 pathway inhibits human allogeneic T cell responses
  Chung J-S, Bonkobara M, Tomihari M, Cruz PD Jr., Ariizumi K. Eur J Immunol 2009 in press
- Acanthosis nigricans
  Kia K, Cruz PD Jr. Treatment of Skin Disease 2009 3rd Edition, in press
- Phototherapy and HIV Infection
  McDonald H, Cruz PD Jr. Dermatological Phototherapy and Photodiagnostic Methods 2008 2nd Edition 229-37
- DC-HIL is a negative regulator of T lymphocyte activation.
  Chung J-S, Sato K, Dougherty I, Cruz PD Jr., Ariizumi K Blood 2007 109 4320-7
- Syndecan-4 mediates the co-inhibitory function of DC-HIL on T cell activation.
  Chung J-S, Dougherty I, Cruz PD Jr., Ariizumi K. J Immunol 2007 179 5778-84
- Syndecan-4 mediates the co-inhibitory function of DC-HIL on T cell activation.
  Chung J-S, Dougherty I, Cruz PD Jr, Ariizumi K J Immunol 2007 179 5778-84
- Ultraviolet B radiation upregulates expression of dectin-2 in epidermal Langerhans cells by activating the gene promoter.
  Bonkobara M, Yagihara H, Chung J-S, Washizu T, Ariizumi, K, Cruz PD Jr Photochem Photobiol 2005 81 944-8
- Identification and expression of dectin-2 promoter in transgenic mouse.
  Gavin ACP, Chung J-S, Sato K, Ariizumi K, Cruz PD Jr. Exp Dermatol 2005 14 281-8
- Freshly isolated spleen dendritic cells and epidermal Langerhans cells undergo similar phenotypic and functional changes during short term culture.
  Girolomoni G, Simon JC, Bergstresser PR, Cruz PD Jr. J Immunol 1990 145 2820-6