The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 3.5 million Americans were diagnosed with skin cancer in 2019, making this risk associated with sun exposure a very compelling reason for protecting yourself from the sun. Yet for rosacea patients there is even more reason for sun protection, as sun exposure is one of the most common triggers for rosacea flare-ups.

Research work was made all the harder for 29-year-old biologist Cielo Figuerola because of her rosacea.

Genetics have long been thought to play a role in rosacea, but researchers have yet to isolate their influence. In one of the first studies of rosacea to measure and define genetic and environmental contributions, Dr. Daniel Popkin, assistant professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University, and colleagues have found that genetics and environmental factors may contribute equally to the disorder.