RAD (Rural Access to Dermatology) Roots (formerly Project RAD) is a flagship rural community skin health screening initiative founded by Dr. Mary Beth Logue, founder of the Rural Access to Dermatology Society. Funded by Eli Lilly & Company since 2025, RAD Roots is designed to tackle the critical shortage of specialized healthcare in rural America. In many rural communities across the United States, patients must travel hours just to see a dermatologist, leading to delayed diagnoses and untreated skin conditions. RAD Roots bridges this geographic gap by bringing free, life-saving dermatological care and preventative screenings directly into these underserved areas.

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This program operates through a network of board-certified dermatologist member leaders: "RAD Champions." RAD Roots provides the financial and logistical support for our RAD Champions to lead stress-free community skin health screening events in partnership with existing rural community events. This approach allows us to truly meet patients where they are. Our RAD Champions, along with their amazing volunteer teams of physicians, advanced practitioners, resident physicians, medical students and staff, provide expert evaluations, education, and early detection for both inflammatory skin disease and skin cancer.

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What sets RAD Roots apart from traditional outreach is our commitment to turning these encounters into actual, sustainable care delivery. Telehealth, Project ECHO, free clinics, and mobile outreach are all valuable tools, but they should be a means to an end, not the end itself. Our vision is to build upon these efforts by cultivating our existing network of RAD Champions, establishing dermatology clinics, and mentoring future dermatologists who will ultimately put down roots in these communities.

Through corporate funding and the mobilization of dedicated physicians, RAD Roots serves as a vital healthcare lifeline, ensuring that a patient's zip code does not dictate their access to quality dermatologic care.