Center for
Global Health

Scholar

Languages: English (native), Spanish (basic)

Bio statement

Carrie Kovarik, MD is a Professor of Dermatology, Dermatopathology, and Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania. Her clinical and research interests span global and community health, infectious disease-related skin conditions — including HIV-related skin disease and human papillomavirus — and improving access to health care through innovation and technology. She is the founder of the Penn Dermatology Global Health program, through which she provides clinical care and education in underserved communities and for vulnerable populations both in the United States and globally.

Dr. Kovarik has implemented numerous innovative programs aimed at improving access to care and patient outcomes, leveraging mobile phones, electronic medical records, open-source technology, accessory medical devices, and telemedicine platforms. She is actively engaged in developing, sustaining, and advocating for new models of quality health care that expand access through telemedicine and augmented intelligence. Her work reflects a sustained commitment to bridging gaps in care for underserved populations through clinical expertise, education, and technological innovation.

Recent global health projects

I currently provide teledermatology consultations for the Baylor Pediatric AIDS Corp physicians - mostly in Malawi and Tanzania, who are providing healthcare to children living with HIV. I have been doing this since 2006.

I also mentored a Vietnamese physician and helped her set up an ECHO program in her hospital to allow regional doctors and health care workers to send her dermatology department virtual consultations.

Selected publications

Caro-Vegas C, Peng A, Juarez A, Silverstein A, Kamiyango W, Villiera J, McAtee CL, Mzikamanda R, Tomoka T, Peckham-Gregory EC, Moorad R, Kovarik CL, Campbell LR, Mehta PS, Kazembe PN, Allen CE, Scheurer ME, Ozuah NW, Dittmer DP, El-Mallawany NK. Pediatric HIV+ Kaposi sarcoma exhibits clinical, virological, and molecular features different from the adult disease. JCI Insight. 2023 Nov 22;8(22):e167854.

Palepu S, Sindgi VM, Srikrishnan AK, Kovarik C. Insights Into Skin-Lightening Practices of Hijra and Transgender Communities in India. JMIR Dermatol. 2025 May 29:8:e66822.

Palepu S, Sindgi VM, Aylur KS, Margolis DJ, Kovarik C. Mental Health and Substance Use Amongst Trans Women in India. J Homosex 2026;73(2):485-493.

Slaught C, Madu P, Chang AY, Williams VL, Kebaetse MB, Nkomazana O, Molefe-Baikai OJ, Bekele NA, Omech B, Kellman PJ, Krasne S, Kovarik CL. Novel Education Modules Addressing the Underrepresentation of Skin of Color in Dermatology Training. J Cutan Med Surg. 2021 Aug 2.

Silverstein A, Kamiyango W, Villiera J, Peckham-Gregory EC, McAtee CL, Scheurer ME, Cox CM, Kovarik CL, Campbell LR, Allen CE, Mehta PS, Kazembe PN, Ozuah NW, El-Mallawany NK. Long-term outcomes for children and adolescents with Kaposi sarcoma. HIV Med. 2021 Oct 11.

McMahon DE, Oyesiku L, Amerson E, Beltraminelli H, Chang AY, Forrestel A, Hay R, Knapp A, Kovarik C, Maurer T, Norton SA, Rehmus W, Van Hees C, Wanat KA, Williams VL, Fuller LC, Freeman EE. Identifying Gaps in Global Health Dermatology: A Survey of GLODERM Members. Br J Dermatol. 2021 Mar 3

Ha YP, Tesfalul MA, Littman-Quinn R, Antwi C, Green RS, Mapila TO, Bellamy SL, Ncube RT, Mugisha K, Ho-Foster AR, Luberti AA, Holmes JH, Steenhoff AP, Kovarik CL (2016). Evaluation of a Mobile Health Approach to Tuberculosis Contact Tracing in Botswana. J Health Commun. 2016 Oct;21(10):1115-21. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2016.1222035. 

El-Mallawany NK, Kamiyango W, Slone JS, Villiera J, Kovarik CL, Cox CM, Dittmer DP, Ahmed S, Schutze GE, Scheurer ME, Kazembe PN, Mehta PS (2016). Clinical Factors Associated with Long-Term Complete Remission versus Poor Response to Chemotherapy in HIV-Infected Children and Adolescents with Kaposi Sarcoma Receiving Bleomycin and Vincristine: A Retrospective Observational Study. PLoS One. 2016 Apr 15;11(4). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153335.

Last Updated: 18 May 2026