Alumni Spotlight

Nima Gharavi, MD, PhD is a board-certified dermatologist, clinical scientist and fellowship-trained Mohs micrographic surgeon. He joined COPE Health Solutions in 1998 after realizing his interest in the medical field as an undergraduate student at UCLA. After graduating summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology and a specialization in Business and Administration, Gharavi entered the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he obtained both an MD and a PhD. During this time, he remained actively engaged with COPE Health Solutions. “I enjoyed working with COPE and felt it was important to be involved and take on leadership roles. Through these experiences I’ve made valuable connections,” Gharavi said.

In 2000, Gharavi helped start the very first Clinical Care Extender (CCE) program at Citrus Valley Health Partners in West Covina, California. He developed and conducted the first CCE training, which is the foundation of the CCE training used today. “My involvement with COPE helped improve my leadership skills and solidified my interest in teaching. Today, I’m using the skills I gained to teach dermatology, Mohs surgery, and facial reconstruction,” he shared. When asked what advice he would give to prospective health care professionals, he said, “Let your experiences guide you and surround yourself with good mentors. What you’re interested in now, may change.” Gharavi said his interests changed throughout his career journey.  “I wasn’t originally pre-med. My experience in a research lab led me to the MD/PhD program, and my research mentors were very supportive. When I first started medical school, I wanted to be a cardiologist but later became interested in dermatology. During residency, my experience in Mohs, and specifically working with my mentor, Dr. Gary Lask, got me interested in procedures and led me to pursue a procedural dermatology/Mohs fellowship.”

While in the MSTP, Gharavi received numerous clinical and scientific accolades, including research grants from the American Heart Association (AHA), and awards such as the Edith and Carl Lasky award for the best research performed by a UCLA medical student and the AHA Irvin H. Page Young Investigator Award, which for the first time in 30 years was awarded to a graduate student. Following medical school, Gharavi completed his internship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, residency in dermatology at UCLA, and fellowship in procedural dermatology/Mohs micrographic surgery at UCLA. During his training, he continued to perform research, studying the genetic profiles of high-risk skin cancers for which he received the Theodore Tromovitch award for the best research presented at the 2013 annual Mohs College meeting.

A diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and the American College of Mohs Surgery, Gharavi is also currently director of Mohs micrographic surgery for the Department of Dermatology at Cedars-Sinai. To date, he has published more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, abstracts and textbook chapters, and continues to present and teach his peers and trainees at national and international conferences.

At COPE Health Solutions, we are thrilled to support the development of incredible health care professionals like Gharavi. He is an example of success we see every day with our pipeline of more than 3,500 health and pre-health professionals and more than 24,000 alumni.

For more information about the Clinical Care Extender program, please contact our Health Care Talent Innovations team at hcti@copehealthsolutions.com.  If you’re an alumni looking to reconnect with us and join our COPE Connect Network, contact us at alumni@copehealthsolutions.org.