Honoring The Life of a Giant in Dermatologic Surgery
We are all mourning the untimely passing of our esteemed colleague and friend, Dr Ron Moy, in July 2025. Dr Moy was unlike any other, with remarkable career accomplishments in academia, private practice, clinical research, teaching, and leadership. At the time of his passing, Dr Moy was Senior Editor of the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology and Senior Vice-President of the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Always an outstanding student, Dr Moy completed his undergraduate and medical education at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Albany Medical College in 1981. Following a dermatology residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he moved east for a facial cosmetic and Mohs Micrographic Surgery Fellowship with John Zitelli at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Health Sciences. He later returned to California, where he served as Chief of Dermatologic Surgery and ultimately Co-Chief of the Division of Dermatology at UCLA.
In 1992, Dr Moy founded Moy, Fincher, Chipps Facial Plastics and Dermatology in Beverly Hills. He personally trained the other 3 physicians in his practice (Drs, Edward Fincher, Lisa Chipps, and Lauren Moy) in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery.
Dr Moy’s accomplishments are legendary. He never turned away an interested medical student, resident, fellow, or practitioner who wished to learn from him. He trained 21 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) fellows in Mohs micrographic surgery and mentored more than 250 medical students and health care professionals. At UCLA, he trained over 25 research fellows focused on the immunology of skin cancer. Many of Dr Moy’s fellows served in distinguished academic positions, including Victor Neel MD (Harvard/ Massachusetts General Hospital), David Ozog MD (Henry Ford Hospital), Hayes Gladstone MD (Stanford University), Mary Christian MD (University of Texas), Nick Telfer MD (Manchester, UK) Baruch Kaplan MD (Tel Aviv, Israel), and Jeremy Kemp MD (University of Washington).
A leader in the American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS), Dr Moy served as the longest-tenured Chair of the Fellowship Training Committee (1994-2004). While serving as a member of the ACGME Residency Committee for Dermatology (RRC), he helped to facilitate the conversion of Mohs College fellowships to ACGME accreditation. Dr Moy also served on the ACMS Board of Directors and was Annual Meeting Program Chair in 1998. While Editor-in-Chief of Dermatologic Surgery, Dr Moy prioritized Mohs Surgery manuscripts over cosmetic submissions.
During his term as President of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), the Appropriate Use Criteria for Mohs Surgery were published. Additional honors include President of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (2024-2025). President of the California Medical Board (2005), President of the California Division of Medical Quality, President of the American Board of Facial Cosmetic Surgery, and President of the Los Angeles County Medical Association-Bay District.
In addition to his term as Editor-in-Chief of Dermatologic Surgery, Dr Moy served on the Editorial Boards of Facial Plastic Surgery and the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. Over his career, Dr Moy contributed more than 200 scientific articles in the medical literature. In 2024, he was honored with the Samuel J. Stegman MD, Award for Distinguished Service by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
Beyond medicine, Dr Moy was an accomplished athlete who excelled in tennis and golf. At various medical meetings, he was known to play tennis with his close friend, Mark Brown MD. As Dr Brown often recounted, and as many others experienced, Dr Moy had a knack for returning every strong shot until his opponents, out of frustration, missed. He won most of his matches.
Dr Moy had become experienced in advanced cosmetic procedures. I once asked him how he was able to learn so much. He replied, “I watch a lot of videos”, an answer that carried at least some truth.
Dr Moy was grateful and very proud of his family, which included his wife, Lisa; daughters, Lauren and Erin, and two young grandsons.
How do we thank a man who did so much to define and develop our specialty? We are all so very fortunate to have known Dr Ron Moy.
May peace and blessings be with the Moy Family.
C. William Hanke MD MPH
Ascension St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
JDD would like to re-share Dr Moy’s Author Spotlight , a piece we published in August 2023.
Read some of his articles here:
Diagnosis of Skin Disease in Moderately to Highly Pigmented Skin by Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence in the Evaluation of Telemedicine Dermatology Patients
