Welcome to the University of New Mexico School of Medicine Department of Dermatology in Albuquerque! As a vital and growing part of the only academic health center in the state, our Department is locally and nationally recognized as a center of excellence in Dermatology and a referral source for our region. The Department’s mission is to deliver expert compassionate care for the diverse people of New Mexico and leading inclusive education, research, and training in dermatology. Our vision truly is to transform Dermatology in New Mexico.
We are privileged to provide high-quality and culturally competent dermatologic care for our diverse communities. We also have great pride in our integral role in training future dermatologists, and specifically those who may serve the underserved in the Southwestern United States. New Mexico currently has fewer than half the dermatologists it should to treat our population, and in our Department, we see it as our highest priority task to train Dermatology leaders for tomorrow and educate our primary care peers and colleagues to be able to deliver preventive skin care in their local communities. Our research efforts are directed at addressing practice knowledge gaps, non-invasive novel imaging techniques (including reflective confocal microscopy – the only one in the state of New Mexico), and being at the forefront of clinical trials for new medications and other therapies.
Our clinical faculty includes 7 dermatologists and 3 jointly appointed dermatopathologists; we are actively recruiting for additional positions as well. We are accredited by the ACGME for a complement of 4 residents per year. We render both generalized and highly specialized skin care to ambulatory and hospitalized patients each year from Albuquerque and around our ruggedly beautiful, rural, minority-majority state. We are exceedingly proud of our collaborative and inclusive approach, our breadth of experience and diverse backgrounds, and our broad-ranging expertise in cutaneous oncology/skin cancer, Mohs micrographic surgery, general and complex medical/consultative dermatology, laser and procedural dermatology, pediatric dermatology and vascular anomalies.
We see patients of all ages and we strive to systemically address health care disparities which often lead to delays in dermatologic care for those most in need. Services are provided at the UNMH Dermatology Clinic (1021 Medical Arts), the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center Cutaneous Oncology Clinic, Sandoval Regional Medical Center, UNMH Young Children’s Health Center, UNM Hospital Gallup Clinic, UNM Truman Health Services, UNM Hospital and Pediatric Operating Room as well as the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and via teledermatology. We partner with Tricore Reference Laboratories, a nationally recognized leader in quality lab outreach, innovative research technologies, and a world-class pathology data repository. Our dermatopathologists assess over 20,000 skin biopsy specimens annually, including approximately 3,000 specifically from the UNM Dermatology team.
We welcome you to learn more about us through our website; please review our programs and services and learn about our residency training program and research initiatives. For additional information about our academic program, contact us at hsc-dermatology@salud.unm.edu or call 505-272-6000. To schedule an appointment in our clinics, please call (505) 272-6222.
With gratitude,
Aimee Smidt, M.D., FAAD, FAAP
Chair of the Department of Dermatology