I'm Dr. Kemi Onajin, I'm a dermatologist and a dermatopathologist. So as a dermatologist, I specialize in the treatment of diseases of the skin, the hair, and the nails. And as a dermatopathologist, which is a subspecialty in dermatology, I actually diagnose and interpret skin biopsies under the microscope.

Growing up and as a young child in Nigeria, I suffered from eczema and acne. But whenever I went to see my doctor, I always felt better a few days or weeks after because of the treatment. So from a young age, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor, so that I could improve the quality of care for my patients, and they can feel better just as I did after seeing my doctor. So dermatology was something that I was very passionate about from a young age.

I think the patient population is very unique and very diverse. We see patients who are professors, and students, and workers staff here at the university. But we also see patients here in the south side of Chicago, patients coming from Indiana. And just having that diverse patient population really attracted me to University of Chicago. And then the patient centered care that we have here-- innovative research, how we serve our community through clinical care and research attracted me.

I want to be the doctor that I would want to see. I want to be the doctor that my family would want to see. So when patients come to me with their skin concerns, I take it very seriously. The skin is sort of a window to what's going on inside the body, and we don't realize how much skin diseases affect people. So I take an approach of integrative care, so I'm contacting their primary care doctor. If I'm seeing a patient who has lupus, I'm working with rheumatologists very closely.

So I want to make sure that their skin is important, and it's taken care of. So that's the approach that I take to my care. In addition to being a dermatologist, I see patients in clinic. And a dermatopathologist, interpreting skin biopsies under the microscope. I do perform some surgical procedures, treating skin cancers. I also perform a few procedures on hidradenitis suppurativa, which is actually a condition where patients develop boils-- very painful boils that drain in certain parts of the body, like, the underarms and the groin area.

I also have a specialty clinic where I see patients with autoimmune skin diseases. So an example of an autoimmune skin disease is lupus. And lupus, what happens is that your body's immune system is basically attacking itself. And sometimes, that can show up in the skin. So I specialize in those diseases too.