Meet Our Leadership Team

This is unpublished

Residency leadership team

Welcome from the program directors

In her book, “All About Love: New Visions,” feminist scholar and cultural critic bell hooks describes love not as a feeling or a passive occurrence, but as an active choice “to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”

Love may feel like a funny thing to talk about in the context of medicine and medical education, as we are typically told to be inoffensive care providers: knowledgeable, polite and efficient, but free of feeling. In contrast, sharing who we are as individuals and investing our whole person in the care of patients and colleagues may be dismissed as “unprofessional” or “emotional.”

I am a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, and I have wondered what it would look like to create a culture in medicine that was informed by a love ethic. Hooks herself provides us guidance, noting that love requires “responsibility, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, trust and honest communication.” Doing this is not necessarily an easy task, requiring us to unlearn maladaptive ways of interacting and communicating, and asking us to be forgiving, vulnerable and honest with one another. Moreover, it asks us to be understanding of ourselves and one another, while acknowledging our own individual and collective imperfections.

At UW Dermatology, our program is committed to preparing residents to become outstanding clinicians, educators, advocates, and leaders who serve their communities with integrity, while at the same time fostering a culture of mutual support, transparency, and collaboration to promote group well-being and sustainable engagement in the field of dermatology.

As a leader of the residency program, I prioritize and will continue cultivating the following values, which I see embodied by our residents every day:

Acceptance: to see others as their whole selves and work to limit preconceived notions and biases

Integrity: to prioritize honesty and transparency when working and communicating with others

Accountability: to demand excellence of ourselves, to take responsibility for our actions and to recognize missteps as opportunities to learn and grow

Collaboration: to reject antiquated ideas of individual success and to extend beyond ourselves to support mutual flourishing in our personal and professional journeys

Importantly, a community defined by love is also one rooted in hard work, accountability, justice, service, and a commitment to creating opportunity for one another and those we serve. Training at UW Dermatology is comprehensive and rigorous, and often can be challenging, especially during weeks of overnight call service. We seek residents who recognize these challenges as opportunities to grow and improve, and who will put in the daily work of becoming the best dermatologists they can be. In turn, I pledge to support you, love you, and help you find joy and meaning, even on the most demanding days.

I would encourage you to explore our website and see how our values manifest: within our overarching commitment to educational excellence are organized wellness events, and sustained investments in resident well-being--from mornings free after a week of call to extended parental leave. At the end of your training, we hope that you look back on your time at UW Dermatology as a singular experience that was rigorous, rewarding and supportive of your career and life goals.

I feel strongly about the love ethic that characterizes UW Dermatology because I have experienced it myself (including love from our residents!), and it has allowed me to blend my personal and professional lives to create a fulfilling career as a queer doctor supporting and advocating for sexual and gender minority youth. Helping identify and create the ideal career is my goal for each of our residents, no matter their background or aspirations. Inevitably there will be bumps in the road as we thoughtfully work to understand each person’s perspective and story and incorporate these narratives into a larger communal whole that centers growth, collaboration and service, allowing each member of our community to thrive. Our work is always in progress, but I pledge to protect, promote and nurture all of the aspects of your identity that define you. Above all, my goal is to make sure that you feel loved and supported to become the best version of “you” possible.

If being a part of rigorous work that prioritizes personal and community growth speaks to you, I hope that you spend some time getting to know UW Dermatology and will consider applying to our residency training program. I look forward to meeting you!

Markus Boos, MD, PhD
UW Dermatology Residency Program Director

LEADERSHIP team

Markus Boos, MD, PhD
Program Director
he/him/his

Markus is a Seattle transplant who is passionate about providing the best care possible to all of his patients and their families, and is an advocate for climate health and health equity. Outside of the hospital he enjoys Pokémon hunting with his twin boys, husband and dog, reading and doing open water swims in Lake Washington and surrounding lakes.

Lisa Maier, MD
Associate Program Director
she/her/hers

Lisa is a native Michigander who finds herself very much at home in the Pacific Northwest. She loves teaching residents and medical students and is passionate about helping patients. When she is not geeking out about allergic contact dermatitis and rosacea, you can find her flamenco dancing, urban hiking with her husband, laughing with friends and appreciating the beauty of the local plants and flowers.

Stephanie Timm
Assistant Director for Education & Training Program Operations
she/her/hers

Steph is a full scale multipotentialite who loves working in service of learning environments filled with passionate learners and educators. Some of her current interests are digital art and animation, hiking, yoga, mindfulness meditation and writing, volunteering at Food Lifeline, and she is currently on a 1 year, 1 audiobook-per-week odyssey. She has an MFA in playwriting, and has taught creative writing for over 15 years.