About Me

Welcome to my Web page. I look forward to getting to know you better. I am pleased to be a partner at Kaiser Permanente as a double board-certified and fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon and dermatologist. Hopefully this biography gives you a brief introduction to who I am and my philosophy in providing member-centered care.

Biography

I grew up in Clovis, California, and attended college as part of the founding class at UC Merced. My interest in dermatology grew during medical school at UC San Francisco. During my internship at UC Irvine, I was chosen as Intern of the Year based on my patient care. I furthered my training during my residency at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where I was chosen to serve as chief resident my final year. Following completion of my residency, I completed a micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology/Mohs fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. Currently I serve as physician lead of the Kaiser Permanente Orange County Mohs Division. Besides surgery, my other passions are teaching and leadership. I am associate faculty at Harbor-UCLA’s dermatology residency program, where I volunteer at their Safety Net Hospital and teach the fundamentals of Mohs surgery. The residents kindly awarded me the annual Teaching Award in 2022. I also am an associate clinical professor at the Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine in Pasadena, where I help teach and mentor medical students and serve as the co-advisor for the Dermatology Interest Group. I currently am serving a 3-year term on the American Board of Dermatology Board of Directors as the Board Observer. Additionally, I was chosen as 1 of 8 Mohs surgeons across the nation out of the American College of Mohs Surgeons (ACMS) to serve in the Mohs Surgeons Leading the Future leadership development program.

About my practice

An ideal health care professional is one who puts patient care as the top priority. You can expect on the day of surgery that I will make sure that you understand the procedure and the entire healing process as well as answer any questions you may have. I realize surgery in cosmetic areas can cause anxiety or stress, I typically have you choose the music that we listen to during surgery, and I will try my best to minimize the pain during the injections as we numb the skin. My job is to remove your skin cancer, take the best surgical approach, and minimize the removal of normal surrounding skin. The Mohs procedure offers the lowest risk of recurrence while minimizing the appearance of the scar. My other interests in dermatology include cancer surveillance in high-risk patients (those with rare tumor types, transplant patients, immunosuppressed patients), medical education, and volunteering with underserved communities.

How I thrive

I believe a physician should lead a healthy and balanced life. When I’m not in the office, you may find me swimming, gardening, going to Disneyland with family, traveling, or playing with my 2 dogs, Hippo and Mayo.