About Michael Haiman, MD

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I graduated with Distinction in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. It was during my time attending Berkeley that I fell in love with Northern California and vowed to come back here to live some day. I explored some of the country by taking my medical training in different cities. I attended the University of California, San Diego for Medical School, and the University of Washington for Internship and finally studied Dermatology at the largest and one of the most prestigious Dermatology Programs in the country, New York University Medical Center (NYU). After completing my Dermatology Residency at NYU, I worked in the private practices of a few of my University instructors to increase my cosmetic skills while making a living. These practices were in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island. After two years in the private practice setting, I was ready to come back to Northern California. I chose Kaiser Permanente because I knew that this is where the best medical care in the country was being delivered. While I was in private practice, I was told by private insurance companies that I could not treat certain conditions or use certain medications. I was attracted to Kaiser Permanente because the doctors can treat their patients here without having to worry about those limitations. I love being a dermatologist. My initial interest in dermatology grew because the study of dermatology emphasizes not only what you see on the skin, but also what is happening on the cellular level in the skin. I studied molecular biology at UC Berkeley for a similar reason. I love to understand the underlying mechanisms that produce the natural phenomenon we observe in biology.