New Dermatologist Joins Contour Medical Team

I saw a microscope in the clinic, and that’s the moment that I realized dermatology was the specialty for me.

Introducing Dr. Christian Jordan

Contour Dermatology is pleased to announce that board-certified dermatologist Christian Jordan, M.D., Ph.D. has joined our team of medical providers. Dr. Jordan brings more than 18 years of advanced training to his position at Contour and is now seeing dermatology patients. He is the desert’s only dermatology-trained dermatopathologist, having trained under the current president-elect of the American Society of Dermatopathology at his fellowship in St. Louis. Read more about his credentials below.

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Why He Chose Dermatology

“I’m a scientist first,” said Dr. Jordan, who has a Ph.D. in biochemistry. “As a scientist, I wanted to help people, but it can take decades to make any clinical impact in science. Medical school is more of a way to have an impact immediately.” During clinical rotations in medical school, one of his rotations included Mohs surgery. “I saw a microscope in the clinic, and that’s the moment that I realized dermatology was the specialty for me,” he said. “It was the only place in medicine that I could combine all my interests and talents.”

What is a Dermatopathologist?

A dermatopathologist reviews skin biopsies to look for things like melanoma, psoriasis, lupus and more. “Anything that happens in the skin has pathological features,” Dr. Jordan explained. “Dermatopathology is almost like being a detective,” he said. “The slide or the specimen doesn’t have a hat that says, ‘hello, I’m psoriasis,’ (for example). Through hundreds of years, people figured out that psoriasis has features.

Under the microscope, the top layer is very thickened, the capillaries are very dilated, there’s a lot of inflammation, and the cells that make up the inflammation are of the lymphocyte and neutrophil variety. We can look at the slide and all these dozens of characteristics, and then we make a judgment at the end and say the overall, the constellation of these features favors the diagnosis of psoriasis.”

Dr. Jordan explained that sometimes people have a rash and the clinical features are borderline or the patient has been treated, so the rash is altered in its appearance, and the provider cannot make a confident diagnosis on the clinical findings alone. “They rely on me as the pathologist to give them additional information to favor one diagnosis over another,” he said.

His Interests

When he’s not seeing patients or looking at a biopsy under a microscope, Dr. Jordan enjoys playing pickleball, cooking, attending live theatrical and music performances. He also is training to obtain his pilot’s license.

Dr. Jordan’s Role at Contour

Dr. Jordan will see patients for rashes and other dermatologic concerns. In addition, to seeing his own patients, he will confer with other Contour Dermatology providers on challenging biopsy diagnoses.

An In-House Dermapathologist Means Quicker Biopsy Results

As Dr. Jordan is an on-site dermatopathologist, biopsies no longer need to be sent to Los Angeles to a lab for review. Previously, results turnaround time was two to three weeks. That can feel like a long time, especially when someone is concerned about a possible cancer diagnosis. With Dr. Jordan on board, the turnaround time for biopsy results will be much timelier.

Dr. Jordan's Background

Dr. Jordan is native of Puerto Rico and still has family there. “My parents were lawyers and both me and my sister ended up being doctors,” he commented. Dr. Jordan is bilingual, with Spanish being his native language. He moved to the United States at 18 to pursue his undergraduate degree in molecular biology at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Credentials

Fellowship: Dermapathology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO
Residency: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Internship: University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Medical School: University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT

Professional Memberships

American Medical Association (AMA)
American Association of Dermatology (AAD)
International Society of Dermatopathology (ISDP)

American Society of Dermatopathology (ASDP)
American Society of Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS)

Additional Information

Dr. Jordan is well published in his specialty and has two new publications which will be presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Dermatopathology this November, held virtually due to COVID.

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