Why Psoriasis and GLP-1? The Beginning of My Senior Project

When I first began thinking about my Senior Project, I knew I wanted to explore something at the intersection of biology, medicine, and real-world impact. Throughout high school, I’ve been especially drawn to how chronic diseases develop, not just as isolated conditions, but as systems-level problems influenced by metabolism, environment, and lifestyle. Thanks to my gastroenterologist father and dermatologist mother, I have had a great amount of exposure to both. That curiosity ultimately led me to psoriasis and the emerging role of GLP-1 medications.

Psoriasis is often described as a skin condition, but the more I researched it, the more I realized it is much more than that. It is a systemic inflammatory disease closely linked to obesity and metabolic dysfunction. And GLP-1 receptor agonists, medications originally developed for type 2 diabetes and now widely used for weight loss, have transformed how we approach metabolic health. This led to my research question: Can medications designed to regulate metabolism also reduce inflammatory disease severity and how does this benefit the patient?

This project allows me to explore that connection. By analyzing clinical trials and existing research, I will investigate whether GLP-1–associated weight loss improves psoriasis severity and patient quality of life. More importantly, I’m examining what this relationship reveals about the deeper connection between metabolic health and immune function.

Through this project, I hope to strengthen my skills in scientific analysis and critical evaluation of medical literature. I also hope to better understand how emerging therapies can reshape treatment approaches for chronic diseases. Ultimately, I want to walk away not just with research findings, but with a clearer understanding of how complex systems in the body interact and how medicine can address them more holistically. This is just the beginning of my exploration, and I’m excited to see where the data leads.