Ashley Wysong, MD, MS

Emeritus Professor, UNMC Department of Dermatology

Ashley Wysong, MD, MS was the Founding Chair, Tenured Professor and the William W. Bruce MD Distingushed Chair of the UNMC Department of Dermatology from 2018 to 2024. Dr. Wysong currently serves as Emeritus Professor in the department. She is an accomplished leader, a nationally recognized Mohs micrographic surgeon, a translational skin cancer researcher, a skilled lecturer, and a dedicated educator and mentor. Dr. Wysong was recruited to UNMC to envision and build the clinical, education, research, and service/outreach programs for dermatology. She recruited 20 board-certified dermatologists to Nebraska, launched the dermatology residency program in 2019 (and served as the first residency program director), developed comprehensive medical student and graduate educational programs (MD, PhD, MS, MPH), created a foundational research infrastructure, and built comprehensive dermatology clinical programs at Nebraska Medicine (6 locations), Children's Nebraska, and at the VA Hospital. During her time as Department Chair, Dr. Wysong also served as Director of the Skin Cancer Program at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center (FPBCC) and Chief of Dermatology at the Nebraska Western Iowa Veteran's Affairs Health Care System (NWI-VAHCS). Dr. Wysong was also heavily involved in healthcare system wide leadership as Chair of the Clinical Program Executive Committee, Co-Chair of Financial Sustainability Initiatives, and an active member of the Medical Group Executive Committee at Nebraska Medicine.

Dr. Wysong has an outstanding educational background receiving her B.S. in biology, psychology, and chemistry at the University of Missouri. She was also a 6-Time All-American and National Champion in Track and Field. After running professionally for Nike, Dr. Wysong obtained her master’s degree in Epidemiology from Stanford University’s Department of Health Research and Policy and her medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. She was valedictorian of her medical school class. Dr.Wysong completed her residency in dermatology at Stanford University, where she was elected to serve as chief resident. Her fellowship in procedural dermatology and Mohs micrographic surgery was completed at Scripps Clinic under the direction of Dr. Hugh Greenway in Mohs surgery, Dr. Victor Ross in laser and cosmetic dermatology, and Dr. Leland Housman in veins. Dr. Greenway, Dr. Wysong's mentor, trained with Dr. Fredrick Mohs, who invented "Mohs" surgery. Before coming to UNMC, Dr. Wysong was the University of Southern California’s Director of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Procedural Dermatology in the Department of Dermatology and the Director of the Multidisciplinary Skin Cancer Tumor Board at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Wysong has also served as residency program director in dermatology at UNMC and Medical Director of dermatology at Nebraska Medicine.

As a cancer epidemiologist and translational scientist, Dr. Wysong has a broad background in clinical, translational, and outcomes-based research in high-risk squamous cell carcinoma and is widely published in the medical literature. She is particularly interested in identifying novel genetic mutations in skin cancer that can help predict which tumors can be cured by surgery alone and which tumors are at higher risk for metastasis and death. Dr. Wysong is active in numerous national societies and has held leadership positions as a member of the Board of Directors for the American College of Mohs Surgery(ACMS, 2020-2023), the Women's Dermatologic Society (WDS, 2018-2025), and Board of Trustees for the Dermatology Foundation. She is currently an Officer for the WDS (2022-2025) and Chair of theFundraising Committee for the ACMS Foundation. She serves as an active committee member for the ACMS, WDS, ASDS, American Professors of Dermatology (APD), American Board of Dermatology (ABD)and the ACGME.