About Karin A. Brooks, MD

I grew up in San Diego but spent much of my childhood in Sweden where my parents were born and raised. I first moved up to Northern California to attend Stanford University where I graduated with distinction with a degree in Human Biology and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. After college, I moved back to San Diego to be closer to my family and obtained my medical degree from University of California, San Diego. I stayed on at UCSD to complete my internship year in Internal Medicine. My mother and father moved back to Sweden, and I felt drawn to return to the Bay Area since it truly had become like home to me during the undergraduate years I spent here. I love dermatology since it allows me to combine my medical and surgical skills, and gives me the opportunity to see both children and adults in my practice. However, before I embarked on my clinical training in dermatology I felt it was important to gain a different, somewhat deeper perspective on the structure and function of skin; I also had a desire to contribute something to the field I knew I wanted to dedicate my time to. I was granted an NIH (National Institute of Health) fellowship, and spent the next two years at University of California, San Francisco researching and publishing articles on how various factors such as stress impact the function and integrity of our skin. After leaving UCSF I went on to complete my residency training in dermatology at the University of California, Davis. While my time in research invaluably broadened my understanding of dermatology, it was wonderful to be back to my first and foremost passion in medicine: communicating with and developing relationships with my patients with a shared goal of healing and wellness. In my practice I pride myself on being an attentive listener and truly a partner in my patients’ journeys to good health.