Kristen M. Kelly, MD, FAAD

Dr. Kristen M. Kelly is a board certified dermatologist and Professor at the University of California (UC), Irvine. She attended UC, Los Angeles as both an undergraduate and medical student. She completed an internship in internal medicine and a dermatology residency at UC Irvine. After residency, Dr. Kelly completed a fellowship in photomedicine and biomedical optics at the Beckman Laser Institute and then obtained an academic appointment in the departments of dermatology and surgery at UC Irvine.

In 2021, she started in her position as the first female Chair for the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, Irvine.  Her research has helped to optimize cutaneous vascular lesion treatment, evaluate cutaneous angiogenesis, and develop and evaluate novel dermatologic light based imaging and therapeutic options. She works with a number of patient advocacy groups including The Sturge Weber Foundation and The Vascular Birthmark Foundation. 

She has given over 220 lectures at local, national and international conferences and events and has authored over 120 scientific papers and 19 book chapters. Dr. Kelly is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and her research has been funded by the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Sturge Weber Foundation, Dermatology Foundation and National Institutes of Health.