Ronald P. Rapini, MD is Josey Professor and Chair of the Department of Dermatology and the Director of the Mohs Clinic at the University of Texas Health Science Center and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He is the author of Practical Dermatopathology, 2nd Edition. Of the first edition, the British Journal of Hospital Medicine said, “Essential reading for junior pathologists and dermatologists and would be ideally placed next to your microscope.”
In his current position as department chair, Dr. Rapini has led the program into several top rankings, including the title Clinical Center of Excellence. Several of his trainees went on to national recognition including receiving the AMA Foundation Leadership Award.
Dr. Rapini received his medical degree from Ohio State University and completed an internship at Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin. He performed a residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and a fellowship in dermatopathology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He is board certified in dermatology and dermatopathology, and is a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Dr. Rapini’s clinical and research interests include clinical-pathological correlations in skin disease, dermatopathology, and dermatologic surgery.
Dr. Rapini has served as the president of the American Board of Dermatology, the American Society of Dermatopathology, the American Society for Mohs Surgery, and the Texas Dermatological Society. Several society awards have recognized his work, he has been the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in teaching, and he has been named a U.S. News Top Doctor. Among his clinical achievements, he described the first case of swimmer’s itch to occur in exposed skin and described the first case of herpetic paronychia occurring in an atopic patient while on isotretinoin therapy for acne. Dr. Rapini also confirmed that the incidence of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis is higher in association with dysplastic nevi than in ordinary melanocytic nevi and may serve as a marker for NAD.
