About Thomas J. Hoffmann, MD

Thomas J. Hoffmann, M.D. is a Board Certified Dermatologist who has been practicing Dermatology for 26 years and has performed tens of thousands of surgical procedures and is considered an authority and expert in the field of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. He founded Advanced Dermatology, Thomas J. Hoffmann, M.D., Surgical and Medical Offices, Inc. in 1992 with private practices located in Apple Valley, Menifee, and San Bernardino, California. Dr. Hoffmann has extensive, subspecialty training in the field of skin cancer and its management, and, as a result, his practice is devoted to the care of skin cancer patients. Dr. Thomas Hoffmann was born and raised in Chicago and received a Four-Year Academic Scholarship to attend the scholastically rigorous Marist High School where he became an Illinois State Scholar and a National Merit Scholar. To this day, Dr. Hoffmann is very thankful for the challenging and demanding academic environment at Marist High School where a strong foundation for future academic and professional success was forged. Dr. Thomas Hoffmann then attended the University of Illinois from 1976 to 1980 and graduated with the Highest Honors with a Bachelors of Science as a double major in Biology and Psychology while holding down various jobs all four years. He also achieved Departmental Distinction in Biology awarded by academic departments to their outstanding graduates. During his time at the University of Illinois, he accumulated further honors including Who’s Who Among American College Students and became a Dean’s List Scholar. In addition, he was elected to several honors societies such as Phi Eta Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Hoffmann was accepted to numerous medical schools, but chose to attend the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine known for its accelerated basic science learning environment and for providing intensive clinical training within the inner city of Chicago at well known hospitals such as Cook County Hospital. It was there that he spent countless hours in emergency rooms and operating rooms developing many of the surgical skills that he would later perfect in the field of Surgical Dermatology. Due to his strong academic and clinical standing at the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine and his developing interest in teaching, Dr. Hoffmann was selected for tutoring fellow medical students in Anatomy, Histology, and Behavioral Science. He also became a substitute teacher in Anatomy and Physiology at a local community college. His strong academic standing at the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine, further qualified Dr. Hoffmann to attend other medical universities as a visiting student during his third and fourth years of medical school in order to enrich and broaden his overall medical training experience. As a result, he received additional training at UCSD School of Medicine, UCLA Medical School, and Stanford University School of Medicine. Later in his third and fourth years of medical school, he would return to the UCSD School of Medicine and the Department of Immunology, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation where he did many months of research on leprosy with Professor Emeritus, Dr. Irma Gigli. She is considered to be a world authority in dermatologic and immunologic research. Under her direction, a break-through understanding of leprosy was achieved and the findings were published in the very highly regarded Journal of Investigative Dermatology. From here, Dr. Hoffmann was recommended to the world renowned St. John’s Hospital for Diseases of the Skin in London, England (which has since been renamed, The St. John’s Institute of Dermatology and is now part of the large multi-faculty medical school which includes Guy’s, King’s College and St. Thomas’ medical schools). At the time, the program accepted one dermatology resident from the world per year. Dr. Hoffmann is thankful to Dr. Irma Gigli for her recommendation so that he could attend as an Oversea Student Registrar.