Faculty

Rita Khodosh, MD, PhD, is the Interim Chair of Dermatology at UMass. She also serves as the Medical Director of Multidisciplinary Clinics for UMass Memorial Medical Group, leading the strategic expansion of ambulatory services throughout Central Massachusetts. Dr. Khodosh is an expert in Quality Improvement and a leader in Safety and Quality in Dermatology. She is the immediate past Chair of the Patient Safety and Quality Committee of the American Academy of Dermatology, and served as the inaugural Director of Safety and Quality in Dermatology at the University of California in San Francisco before coming to UMass. In the clinic, Dr. Khodosh treats patients with a broad range of dermatologic conditions, from the common to the medically complex. She believes in being a lifelong learner and is always updating her knowledge to provide the most up-to-date education to the residents and students and the best possible care to her patients. Outside of work Dr. Khodosh enjoys being out in nature with her family and dog.

Interests: Pediatric dermatology, psoriasis, genodermatoses, medical dermatology, inpatient dermatology.
She/Her

Leah Belazarian, MD, is originally from Worcester and loves that she practices dermatology where she grew up. She spends half of her time practicing adult medical dermatology and the other half practicing pediatric dermatology. Her main clinical interests are psoriasis, medical education, genodermatoses, inpatient dermatology, and complex medical and pediatric dermatology. She cherishes the time she spends with the residents and medical students. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her four young children and husband, who is a cardiologist. She enjoys riding her Peloton, running, reading, game nights, fashion and interior decorating.

Interests: Cutaneous malignancy, general dermatologic surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, medical dermatology.
She/Her

Dori Goldberg, MD, grew up in MA and has been at UMass Chan Medical School since starting medical school in ’98.  After completing her dermatology residency and Mohs surgery fellowship, she joined the faculty to stay a part of the UMass Chan dermatology family. Her interests in dermatology include Mohs surgery, pediatric procedures, transplant dermatology, surgical education and volunteerism. She looks forward to Camp Discovery every summer which she helps coordinate with Dr. Wiss. Outside of dermatology, Dori enjoys time with her three young daughters and husband, which includes lots of singing and dance parties, cooking/baking and taking on home improvement projects (or just watching them on HGTV).

Chief Inpatient Dermatology
She/Her

Interests: complex medical dermatology, drug reactions, Neutrophilic disorders, inpatient QI, medical education, mentoring.

Dr.Gowda finished medical school and dermatology training in India prior to moving to Baltimore for further training in Internal medicine. She used her experience working as a hospitalist in Virginia to start the inpatient dermatology program at VCU prior to moving to the New England area. She has been the instrumental in starting the inpatient dermatology service where she works as part of a multispecialty care team to deliver comprehensive care for dermatology patients in the inpatient setting.  She has also co started the Supportive oncodermatology clinic helping cancer patients get much needed care for their dermatological issues.  She loves travelling, dancing, spending time with her family. She has recently learnt skiing and loves to spend time on the mountains.

Interests: Contact dermatitis and occupational dermatology, inflammatory skin diseases, computational biology, translational research

Wei-Che Ko, MD is a dermatologist with subspecialty expertise in contact dermatitis and occupational dermatology. He established the Contact Dermatitis Clinic and Research Center at UMass, which provides comprehensive patch testing services and serves as a regional referral center. His research combines clinical investigation with cutting-edge computational approaches, using single-cell RNA sequencing to uncover fundamental mechanisms of allergic skin inflammation. 

Interests: Psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, perioral dermatitis, fungal infections, cutaneous malignancies, infectious diseases, medical education.
She/Her

Nikki Levin, MD, PhD has interests within dermatology that run the gamut from acanthosis nigricans to zoonoses, with particular interest in psoriasis, acne, fungal diseases, and skin cancer. She loves working at UMass Chan because of the outstanding medical students, residents, and fellow faculty members.  She is senior associate editor at the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.  When she is not at work, she enjoys running, gardening, hiking, swimming, playing soccer, reading, and traveling with her family.

Interests: Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancers, nail surgery, scar revision, lasers, vitiligo and cosmetic surgery.

Bassel Mahmoud, MD, PhD, FAAD, is a Board Certified Dermatologist and fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon, Harvard Medical School / Lahey Clinic. He is on the Editorial Board of the American Academy of Dermatology skin healthy Magazine, also an editorial reviewer for multiple research journals, and an invited speaker at national and international conferences. He served on several committees, including the American Academy of Dermatology Organizational Structure Committee and Public Education Committee. Dr. Mahmoud is an editor of 2 published textbooks highlighting the latest advances for the treatment of vitiligo. He is one of few dermatologists in the U.S. performing the Melanocyte-Keratinocyte Transplantation Procedure (MKTP) for vitiligo. He has received multiple Research Grants including the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Cutting Edge Research Grant and the American Skin Association Grant for his research work on surgical treatment of vitiligo. He has obtained many awards including the Everett C. Fox Award, and Photomedicine Society award. His hobbies and interests outside dermatology are sailing, biking, swimming, and travelling.

Interests: Mohs micrographic surgery, cutaneous oncology, cosmetic procedures, and laser dermatology.

Riley McLean, MD, is originally from southeastern Massachusetts but as a UMass Chan graduate and UMass Derm residency and fellowship graduate, she has been living in central Massachusetts for more than a fifteen years. As a Mohs surgeon, her clinical interests are primarily surgical and include AFX tumors, lentigo maligna and environmentalism within the field of Mohs surgery and medicine. Dr. McLean serves as the Medical Director of Green Initiatives within the UMass Memorial Health system.  She has four small children and a loveable mutt at home who keep her busy.  In her spare time, she likes to read, hike, ski, and do ceramics.

Interests: Cutaneous oncology, Mohs and dermatologic surgery, transplant dermatology
He/Him

Patrick Mulvaney, MD, MPH is originally from upstate New York and migrated east for his adult education and medical training. After graduating from medical school at Brown University, he completed dermatology residency at the Harvard Combined Residency Training Program followed by a fellowship in Mohs micrographic surgery and dermatologic oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where he received an M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health. Along with surgical dermatology, Dr. Mulvaney has a particular interest in caring for patients with solid organ transplants who are at increased risk for skin cancer, and is dedicated to the professional development and education of his medical student, resident, and fellow colleagues at UMass and beyond. Outside of the clinic, he enjoys spending time with his family, exercising, exploring New England's culinary offerings, and watching documentary films.

Interests: Pediatric dermatology, vascular anomalies, pediatric laser therapy
She/her

Bella Plumptre, MBBS grew up in a town in the English 'midlands', best known for inventing the sport rugby. She studied Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, before completing medical school at Imperial College in London and a year working for the National Health Service in the UK. She moved to Boston for a pediatric internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by dermatology residency and a pediatric dermatology fellowship at UMass. Bella has special interests in vascular anomalies, pediatric laser therapy, and shared decision making. Outside of medicine, Bella enjoys tandem bike rides with her husband, running (slowly), taking her daughter to the swings, and carbohydrates.

Interests: Autoimmune connective tissues diseases (cutaneous lupus, dermatomyositis, morphea) inflammatory skin diseases, translational research

Mendi Rashighi, MD, is originally from Iran. He graduated from medical school in 2004 and spent several years doing clinical research before joining Dr. Harris's vitiligo research lab in 2011.  During his residency training at UMass Chan, he became interested in autoimmune connective tissue diseases (CTD) and, upon graduation, established a new CTD specialty clinic and research center. In addition to seeing patients in the clinic, he runs a lab dedicated to translational research on inflammatory skin diseases, namely dermatomyositis, lupus and morphea.  Mehdi is married and has two children. Outside of work, he enjoys playing soccer and painting.

Diana B. Reusch, MD, is a pediatric dermatologist who joined faculty at UMass after finishing her training in Boston, at the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Program and Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Dermatology Fellowship. She has lived in Massachusetts her whole life! She is passionate about caring for people with epidermolysis bullosa and connective tissue diseases, and is excited to bring research efforts and trials into daily clinical care. When she’s not working, she loves nature walks with her infant, husband, and dog.

Interests: Lasers, photomedicine, general dermatology, marine dermatology, medical education, Mohs micrographic surgery.

Dr. Scharf was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but grew up in Tampa, Florida. After graduating from Jesuit High School in 1973 he went on to study biology at the University of Chicago from 1973- 78 (with a gap year spent working as mechanic between his sophomore and junior years). Mark then attended medical school at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he graduated Magna Cum Lauda. After a year spent at Yale as an intern in Internal Medicine, he then moved to Boston to begin his residency in 1983 in Dermatology at the Massachusetts General and Harvard affiliated hospitals where he served as Chief Resident in his final year from 1985-86. In 1986 he was recruited to come to Worcester by Dr. Jeffrey Bernhard, who was then the chief of the fledgling Division of Dermatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Now in his 39th year as a Professor of Dermatology, Dr. Scharf serves as the Director of the Dermatology Laser Clinic and Phototherapy. He enjoys teaching & mentoring medical students and dermatology residents in his general dermatology and laser clinics.

Mark’s hobbies over the years have included scuba diving, sports car racing and auto mechanics. He and his wife Marsha enjoy bicycling, kayaking and cross-country skiing. They live in Worcester with their 13-year-old chocolate lab, Snickers. Their fraternal twins, Ben & Julie both live and work in Brooklyn, N.Y. but frequently return for home visits to Worcester, bearing fresh baked bagels from NYC.

Interests: Complex medical dermatology, hidradenitis suppurativa
She/Her

Jessica St. John, MD, MPH, MBA, is a graduate of UMass Chan and completed her residency training in dermatology at UMass Chan. She recently joined the faculty and is interested in complex medical dermatology, including hidradenitis suppurativa. She also serves as the department’s physician quality officer, where she focuses on quality improvement initiatives for better patient outcomes and more efficient processes. She holds dual master’s degrees in public health and business administration from the Johns Hopkins University and is an alumna of Middlebury College. When she is not working with patients or teaching, she enjoys playing board games, baking, and skiing with her two children and husband.

Interests: Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma, Cutaneous B-Cell Lymphoma, Lymphoproliferative Disorders, Cutaneous Oncology, Pruritus, Complex Medical Dermatology

 Ryan Svoboda, MD, MS is originally from Pennsylvania, although he has lived in various locales along the East Coast and is happy to be returning to New England, having previously lived in New Hampshire at one point. Prior to completing his Residency in Dermatology at Penn State, he completed a year of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma research with Dr. Darrell Rigel in New York City, followed by a Clinical Research Fellowship in Cutaneous Lymphoma with Dr. Elise Olsen at Duke University. This is when his fascination with treating Cutaneous Lymphoma began—an interest that he carried into his residency training as he worked with providers from various specialties to help expand the multidisciplinary services available to this patient population. Beyond lymphoma, Dr. Svoboda also enjoys other aspects of complex medical dermatology and has a particular interest in challenging dermatoses.  Outside of work, he enjoys exploring the area with his wonderful wife, son, and adopted shelter dog.

Interests: medical and surgical management of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), cutaneous immunology, clinical trials

Dr. Sarah Whitley is a physician-scientist specializing in the clinical care of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). She runs a NIH-funded translational research laboratory dedicated to defining mechanisms that control skin immune homeostasis. She is a Michigan native and pursued education and training at the University of Michigan, NIH, and University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Scientist Training Program (UAB MSTP) prior to completing a research-track dermatology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in 2017. Her PhD and post-doctoral research in the laboratories of Drs. Casey Weaver and Daniel Kaplan centered on regulation of T helper 17 cell development and survival in peripheral tissue. Dr. Whitley served on the faculty of Department of Dermatology at the University of Pittsburgh from 2017-2022 where she enjoyed training and mentoring residents and medical students. She is the inaugural recruit into Dr. John Harris’s new Autoimmune Therapeutics Institute and is rapidly expanding the already robust departmental clinical and translational research initiatives to advance understanding of immune circuits that regulate IL-17-driven skin inflammation and develop and test novel therapeutics for HS. Outside of work Dr. Whitley enjoys outdoor adventuring, ballroom dancing, finding new ways to eat kale, and spending time with her husband and 3 sons.

Interests: Dermatopathology education, molecular diagnostics, vascular anomalies, melanocytic and soft tissue neoplasms

Dr. Dadras is a board-certified pathologist and dermatopathologist. His training began with an MD-PhD from Northwestern University's Medical Scientist Training Program, followed by an anatomic pathology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He further specialized through fellowships in lymphatic endothelial biology at the MGH Cutaneous Biology Research Center and in dermatopathology at the Combined Harvard Dermatopathology Training Program.

As an NIH-funded investigator, his research focused on identifying novel non-coding RNAs in melanoma and tissue biomarkers in vascular anomalies. His substantial scholarly contributions include authoring many peer-reviewed articles and writing dozens of chapters for Neoplastic Dermatopathology, 4th Edition. He further supported the scientific community as an Academic Editor for PLOS ONE and an ad-hoc reviewer for numerous journals.

A dedicated educator, he teaches a wide range of trainees, from residents to nurse practitioners. To broaden his educational impact, he founded https://digitalskinpathology.com, an online resource designed to advance diagnostic dermatopathology literacy.

Interests: Melanoma, non-melanocytic tumors, and lymphoma.

Interests: Melanoma, non-melanocytic tumors, and lymphoma.

Interests: Melanoma and non melanoma skin cancer, inflammatory skin diseases.