Maryam M. Asgari, MD, MPH, has been named the inaugural University of Colorado Medicine Endowed Chair of the Department of Dermatology for the CU School of Medicine, effective May 1, 2023.
Asgari is a professor of Dermatology and Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School specializing in patient-oriented research in dermatology and Mohs micrographic surgery. She has had nearly two decades of strategic leadership experience with diverse health care delivery systems, which has given her deep knowledge of clinical practice and a strong commitment to training and career development in clinical care.
Over the past two decades, she has developed a strong track record of program building, including most recently as the director of the Patient-Oriented Research in the Epidemiology of Skin Diseases (PORES) clinical research unit, where she oversees a multifaceted team of scientists including trainees. Her research discoveries have led to seminal contributions in the areas of skin cancer risk and etiology.
Asgari has been independently funded since 2002, including as principal investigator of over two dozen NIH, foundation, and industry-sponsored grants. She has published over 150 papers in high-impact journals and given dozens of invited talks nationally and internationally. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Society for Investigative Dermatology and have served as an Associate Editor for their journal and the British Journal of Dermatology. Her academic achievements in research, scholarly, and educational pursuits were recognized at the national level by her induction to the American Dermatologic Association and by election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
“Dr. Asgari is a highly skilled surgeon with exceptional academic credentials,” said Dean John J. Reilly, Jr., MD. “We are pleased to welcome her to the University of Colorado School of Medicine and to the Anschutz Medical Campus. I am confident that she will build strong working relationships with her colleagues and continue to make significant scientific contributions that improve the health of our community.”
“I look forward to joining CU, where I see many opportunities to expand the Department of Dermatology’s clinical presence, research funding, and faculty.” Asgari said. “I am strongly committed to serving my community and collaborating with my colleagues. I am eager to reshape and expand a world-class academic dermatology department, expanding clinical care delivery and patient-oriented research, while helping to mentor the next generation of dermatology faculty while aligning with broader health system goals.”
Asgari has a deeply service-oriented ethos. At Harvard Medical School, she served on and led multiple institutional committees including Chair of the Joint Commission of the Status of Women, the Executive Committee on Research, and the Graduate Student Division and Postdoctoral Division Advisory Council. She was recognized for her institutional service at Harvard Medical School by being awarded the prestigious Exceptional Institutional Faculty Service Award. Her contribution to national service was recognized with the President’s Volunteer Service Award, bestowed by Barack Obama.
Asgari earned her bachelor’s degrees from Stanford University and her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine. She completed her medicine internship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard Medical School, dermatology residency at the University of Washington Seattle, and Mohs Micrographic Surgery Fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She has served on the faculty at Harvard Medical School since 2015.
A dedicated educator and mentor, Asgari has devoted time and attention to training undergraduates, medical students, residents, and fellows. She has consistently demonstrated a commitment to mentorship and sponsorship, diversity and inclusion, professional development, and collaboration for faculty and trainees. As chair, Asgari will seek to cultivate mentorship at all levels and facilitate collaboration within the clinical and research environments.
Asgari will succeed David Norris, MD, who joined the CU School of Medicine faculty in 1977 and has served as department chair since 2001.
About The ?University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus:
The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountain region at the forefront of transformative education, science, medicine and healthcare.
The campus includes the University of Colorado health professional schools, multiple centers and institutes and two nationally ranked hospitals, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children’s Hospital Colorado, which treat nearly 2 million patients each year.
All interconnected, these organizations collaboratively improve the quality of patient care they deliver, research they conduct and health professionals they train.
Academically, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus serves 4,500 students in more than 40 highly rated degree programs across six schools and colleges, supported by $692 million in research awards in fiscal year 2022 – creating an overall economic impact to the state of Colorado of $8.5 billion.
As part of the University of Colorado, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus has direct connections to the other three campuses — Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs — that make up the university system. All combined, the University of Colorado has been a leader in education, research and service for the state and beyond since 1876.
Powered by state-of-the-art facilities on a growing campus with a dynamic vision for the future, the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is uniquely equipped to lead health discoveries and treatment.
About Maryam M. Asgari, MD, MPH:
Maryam M. Asgari, MD, MPH is a board-certified dermatologist, epidemiologist, and Mohs Micrographic surgeon. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University; she completed her medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine, an internship at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, dermatology residency at the University of Washington Seattle, and Mohs Micrographic Surgery Fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
As a dermatologic surgeon, her area of expertise is Mohs Surgery with a special focus on cosmetically sensitive areas. Other areas of skin surgery expertise include excision of melanoma, removal of benign skin lesions such as cysts and lipomas, and scar revisions. As a skin cancer epidemiologist, she works to improve treatments and outcomes related to skin cancer, with a special focus on skin cancer prevention.
She has published more than 150 papers in the most influential medical journals including Nature, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology , and the American Journal of Epidemiology. Additionally, she has delivered more than 100 presentations and served leadership roles on national profession societies and national guideline committees. Dr. Asgari received President Obama’s Award for Volunteerism for her work to improve healthcare, especially to patient populations in underserved areas.
Source:
News: https://news.cuanschutz.edu/medicine/cu-som-names-new-chair-of-the-department-of-dermatology
Doctor: https://www.massgeneral.org/doctors/19665/maryam-asgari
School: https://www.cuanschutz.edu/about