Arturo P. Saavedra MD, PhD, MBA

Dr. Saavedra is originally from Salamanca, Spain, but grew up in Puerto Rico in a large family of six. His father, a physician, and his mother, a teacher, instilled in him a love of science.

He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in biological sciences. Saavedra then received a combined medical and doctoral degree from University of Pennsylvania with specialized training in pharmacology. After completing residency training and Chief Residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he went on to graduate from the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Training Program and completed his fellowship in dermatopathology.  Dr. Saavedra has served as Chief of Population Health and Health Policy and previously as Chief of Ambulatory Strategy and Operations at the University of Virginia Health system.  Additionally,  he served as chair of the Department of Dermatology since October 2017 prior to being named Dean at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. . As a clinician and researcher, he specializes in the care of complex medical dermatology, with particular interest in HIV dermatology, severe drug reactions that manifest with dermatologic complications and care of oncologic and posttransplant patients.  in addition to his role at VCU, Dr. Saavedra is an editor of Fitzpatrick’s Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, the most widely read dermatology atlas for diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions.  In his free time, he enjoys triathlon, hiking and theater.