Massachusetts General Hospital

Biography

Born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico all college and medical education was obtained at the University of Puerto Rico. Graduated from the Dermatology Training Program, Harvard Medical School in 1972. Became Chief of Dermatology Ambulatory Services of the MGH in 1977 and was instrumental in establishing specialized services such as Dermatologic Surgery (Moh's procedure), Laser and Cosmetic and Contact Dermatitis/Patch Testing/Occupational Dermatology during a 10-year tenure. One of the founders of Photochemotherapy in the USA. Continues to direct the first Contact Dermatitis/Patch Testing/Occupational Dermatology clinic in New England established in 1977. Scholarly work has been mostly dedicated to phototherapy, lasers and contact dermatitis.

Extracurricular activities have been dedicated to issues of diversity and minorities at Harvard Medical School and the MGH. Established the first Hispanic Medical Students Mentorship Program for the four medical schools in Massachusetts in the country. Served a 10-year tenure as Associate Director of the Multicultural Affairs Office and is one of the founding members of the Diversity Committee of the MGH. The Ernesto Gonzalez Award for Outstanding Services to the Hispanic Community was established by the MGH in 2005 to honor him and employees that display similar dedication every year. Received the Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring (2002), the Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award of the Year (2001) and the Humanism Award (2003) from Harvard Medical School.

Research

Present research activities pertain to allergic contact dermatitis based on data collected from patients of the Patch Test Clinics at the MGH since 1986 and includes NIH-supported RO1 research on the diagnostic application of the Reflectance Confocal Microscope on contact dermatitis as well as clinical data to identify demographic characteristics of this population.

Publications

Swindells K, Burnett N, Rius-Diaz F, Gonz?lez E, Mihm MC, Gonz?lez S. Reflectance confocal microscopy may differentiate acute allergic and irritant contact dermatitis in vivo. J Am Acad Dermatol 2004; 50:220-8

Astner S, Gonzalez E, Cheung AC, Rius-Diaz F, Doukas A, Farinelli W, Gonzalez S: Non-invasive evaluation of the kinetics of allergic and irritant contact dermatitis. J Invest Dermatol 2005; 124:351-359

Astner S, Gonzalez E, Cheung AC, Rius-Diaz F, Gonzalez S. Pilot study on the sensitivity and specificity of in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy in the diagnosis of allergic contact dermatitis. J Am Acad Dermatol 2005; (53) 60:986-92Astner S, Burnett N,Rius-Diaz F, Doukas AG, Gonzalez S,

Astner S, Gonzalez S, Gonzalez E: Noninvasive evaluation of allergic and irritant contact dermatitis by in vivo reflectance confocal microscope. Dermatitis 2006; 17: 182-9

2009 Ernesto González Award

MGH Hotline 11.06.09 CARMEN VEGA-BARACHOWITZ, MS, CCC-SLP, director of Speech, Language, Swallowing and Reading Disabilities, was presented the 2009 Ernesto González Award for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community during an Oct. 23 awards ceremony held in the East Garden Room.

In General:Department of Dermatology

In General awards and honors

BHCHP honors Ernesto Gonzalez, MD

MGH Hotline 5.13.11 Ernesto Gonzalez, MD, a clinician, investigator and educator in the MGH Department of Dermatology, was honored April 25 with the Jim O'Connell Award from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP).

¡Soy Latino! MGH community honors Gonzalez awardees

Olga Campos, RN, and Dulce Cardona-Rivera, are this year's recipients of the Ernesto Gonzalez Award for Outstanding Service to the Latino Community.