Faculty

Interests: Vitiligo, autoimmunity, immunology, translational research.

John Harris, MD, is the chair of dermatology and director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center at UMass Chan. He is a dermatologist and physician-scientist, caring for patients in a vitiligo specialty clinic and running a large research laboratory focused on understanding disease pathogenesis and developing new treatments. His group integrates basic, translational and clinical research strategies to accomplish this. As a result, early clinical trials in vitiligo have shown success, and more are being developed. Finally, Dr. Harris founded Villaris Therapeutics, whose entire focus is to develop an effective, long-lasting treatment for vitiligo.

Rita Khodosh, MD, PhD, is the Vice Chair of Dermatology at UMass. Dr. Khodosh is an expert in Quality Improvement science and leads QI work as the Deputy Chair of the AAD Patient Safety and Quality Committee. Before coming to UMass, she served as the inaugural Director for Safety and Quality of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. In the clinic, Dr. Khodosh treats patients with a broad range of dermatologic conditions, from the bread and butter 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 her 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, epidermolysis bullosa, genodermatoses, midline developmental defects, childhood exanthems, medical education, pediatric laser.
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Karen Wiss, MD, has lived in MA since finishing residency but you might still pick up a bit of her Texas drawl.  She has worked as a pediatric dermatologist at UMass Chan since 1992.  Her main interests within dermatology include epidermolysis bullosa, genetic skin disease, vascular anomalies, midline developmental defects and childhood exanthems.  She loves mentoring medical students, residents and fellows and has been passionate about organizing AAD Camp Discovery Connecticut, a week-long camp experience for children with disabling skin diseases. She has two young adult children and a husband who is also a dermatologist.  Outside of work, Karen enjoys traveling, barre class, riding her Peloton and baking.

Interests: Pediatric dermatology, psoriasis, genodermatoses, medical dermatology, inpatient dermatology.
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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.
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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).

Interests: Psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, perioral dermatitis, fungal infections, cutaneous malignancies, infectious diseases, medical education.
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Nikki Levin, MD, PhD has interests within dermatology that run the gamut from acanthosis nigricans to zoonoses, with particular interest in acne, fungal diseases, hidradenitis, psoriasis and skin cancer. She loves working at UMass Chan because of the outstanding medical students, residents and fellow faculty members.  When she is not at work, she enjoys running, gardening, playing soccer, doing crossword puzzles with her son, going for long walks with her daughter and baking bread with her husband.

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

Bassel Mahmoud, MD, PhD, FAAD, is a Mohs surgeon and the director of teledermatology at UMass. His main clinical interests are treatment of skin cancers and laser procedures. He is one of the very few dermatologists in the U.S. performing the Melanocyte-Keratinocyte Transplantation Procedure (MKTP); which has proven to be an effective treatment for patients with arriston vitiligo who do not respond to other treatment options. Dr. Mahmoud is an editorial reviewer for multiple research journals, both national and international. He has three kids and 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 has been living and working in Worcester for more than a decade. As a Mohs surgeon, her clinical interests are primarily surgical and include AFX tumors, lentigo maligna and environmentalism within the field of Mohs surgery. Dr. McLean feels very strongly about environmental sustainability in the clinic and in her personal life, even biking to work on occasion!  She has three small children and a loveable mutt at home who keep her busy.  In her spare time, she likes to read, hike and ski. 

Interests: General Dermatology, Cosmetic Dermatology

Melissa Michelon, MD, is originally from Michigan, but has lived in the Worcester area since college.  She completed her residency training at UMass Chan Medical School and stayed on as faculty after graduation. She enjoys teaching residents and medical students. Dr. Michelon practices general dermatology with a special interest in laser and cosmetic procedures. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her four young children. 

Interests: Cutaneous oncology, Mohs and dermatologic surgery, transplant dermatology
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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 wife and two dogs, exercising, exploring New England's culinary offerings, and watching documentary films.

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

Nutan MD went to medical school and received 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 there prior to moving to the New England area. She runs the consult service for dermatology in the hospital where she works as part of multispecialty care team to deliver comprehensive care in the inpatient setting. When she is not working she loves to spend time with her boys travelling and to perform and train in Indian classical dancing.

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.

Interests: Autoimmunity, Immunology, Fibrosis, Translational Research, Lupus

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

Interests: Complex medical dermatology, hidradenitis suppurativa
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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, pain mechanisms and management, 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 focused on neuroimmune interactions 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 the UPMC Department of Dermatology 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 excited to expand the already robust departmental clinical and translational research initiatives to advance understanding of how cutaneous nerves regulate Type-17 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: Melanoma, non-melanocytic tumors, and lymphoma.

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

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