Dr. Paul Nghiem Named Interim Chair of New Department of Dermatology

UW Dermatology is delighted to announce that Paul Nghiem, MD, PhD, has been selected to serve as the Interim Chair of the new UW Department of Dermatology as of Oct. 1, 2023.  

Beginning Oct. 1, 2023, UW Dermatology will officially transition to an academic department under the UW School of Medicine and will no longer be considered a Division within the UW Department of Medicine. Learn more about UW Dermatology’s upcoming department transition.  

“This is the cumulation of discussions over many years, including with the recruitment of Dr. Paul Nghiem as Head of the Division of Dermatology in 2015, and reflects the excellence and continued growth of the teaching, research, and clinical activities in the current Division of Dermatology.” — Timothy H. Dellit, MD, Interim CEO for UW Medicine, Interim Dean for the UW School of Medicine  

Dr. Nghiem has also been identified as the lead candidate to serve as the founding chair of the new Department of Dermatology. In collaboration with the faculty, staff and trainees of the new Department, a proposal will be developed over the coming months to outline resources needed for Dermatology to grow in clinical, research and teaching capacities. The goal will be to identify what specific resources/partnerships will be required to realize the mission and vision of the new Department, which will be linked to recruitment of the founding chair of the Department.

Dr. Nghiem is the current Head of the UW Division of Dermatology, a board-certified physician at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and an adjunct professor in the Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Immunology, and Oral Health Sciences. Dr. Nghiem oversees the Nghiem Lab, a laboratory focused on the biology of skin cancer with a special focus on Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare but lethal skin cancer.