Photo: Hallie Leo
As he has every summer for the past seven years, UMass Chan Medical School MD/PhD candidate Vincent Azzolino is volunteering with other medical students, residents and attending physicians at Camp Discovery, a free camp funded by the American Academy of Dermatology for children with chronic skin conditions. The campers, who often cannot attend traditional summer camps due to their medical needs, can fish, swim, try archery, rock climb and enjoy outdoor activities.
“It's super eye-opening to realize what these kids deal with but how resilient and happy they are,” said Azzolino, an aspiring dermatologist from Acton, Massachusetts who helps with program planning and assists with medical needs. “The whole point is to come to camp and forget about it. We do everything we can so they don't have to.”
Azzolino studied chemistry at Worcester Polytechnical Institute and had planned to pursue a PhD in medicinal chemistry so he could design pharmaceutical drugs. A summer opportunity studying vitiligo with John Harris, MD, PhD’05, the Lambi and Sarah Adams Chair in Genetic Research and chair and professor of dermatology inspired him to obtain a dual degree.
“I love any type of research with a personal connection,” said Azzolino. “I've yet to find something more exciting than dermatology. There's tons of different disease states you can look at from the bench side, and you have the ability to interact with patients. It's a great way to balance both.”
Azzolino completed his PhD work in January 2025, researching drug resistance in the lab of Celia Schiffer, PhD, the Arthur F. and Helen P. Koskinas Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology and chair and professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology. He paid close attention to enteroviruses, which cause the common cold, polio, and hand, foot and mouth disease.
“Drug resistance and the emergence of super bugs and hypermutating viruses will continue to be an important area of medicine. We want to develop an inhibitor that’s resilient to mutations and acts directly against these viruses,” Azzolino said.
A self-proclaimed “huge nerd,” Azzolino enjoys playing Magic: The Gathering card and board games, Dungeons & Dragons, and traveling with his wife Sydney Knoll, DNP, and dog Acorn. Dr. Knoll graduated from the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing at UMass Chan in 2023 and is an instructor in family medicine & community health. They met on campus at a gala in February 2020, turning virtual dates and hiking during the pandemic into marriage.
At UMass Chan, Azzolino is co-president of the Dermatology Interest Group, previously a co-chair for the MD/PhD mentorship committee and is a member of the UMass LIGHT (Leadership Institute for Growth, Health and Transformation) mentorship program.
