About Olga K. Afanasiev, MD
Olga Afanasiev, M.D., Ph.D. is a physician-scientist with a passion for problem-driven research, innovation and technology development in dermatology to improve patient care and healthcare delivery. Currently she is in her final year of dermatology residency at Stanford. Her clinical and research interests include: general dermatology, cutaneous oncology (melanoma, high risk non-melanoma skin cancers, Merkel cell carcinoma), novel therapeutics, teledermatology and digital health platforms. She obtained her MD/PhD with Alpha Omega Alpha honors at University of Washington in Seattle. Her graduate studies were done in Dr. Paul Nghiem’s lab, where she identified how to use the immune system to fight the virus-associated Merkel cell cancer (which led to the approval to PD1 inhibitors for MCC). She obtained her BA degree from University of California, Berkeley. When not in clinic, you can find her in the mountains or on the water with her family.
