Kishwer S. Nehal

Dr. Kishwer S. Nehal is the Director of Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Professor of Dermatology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University and completed a surgical internship at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. She subsequently completed Dermatology residency and Mohs micrographic surgery fellowship at New York University Medical Center and joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in 1998.  

Dr. Nehal developed the first Mohs and Dermatologic Surgery Program at MSKCC. The program with 5 surgeons offers cutaneous oncology expertise in high risk basal and squamous cell carcinomas and challenging lentigo maligna melanomas. A patient reported outcome measure, the FACE-Q Skin Cancer, was developed and validated at MSKCC to assess quality of life impact of skin cancer and patient satisfaction after treatment and further facilitates our patient-centered care. Dr. Nehal is also the co-director of the Multidisciplinary Skin Cancer Management Program at MSKCC providing comprehensive care for complex and advanced skin cancer patients in a multidisciplinary setting. She has published extensively in the field of cutaneous oncology and Mohs surgery with over 180 scientific publications. Dr. Nehal’s clinical research on noninvasive confocal imaging in collaboration with the optical imaging team at MSKCC has resulted in significant advances in imaging skin cancers ex vivo and in vivo to guide surgery. Dr. Nehal is also dedicated to teaching students and residents and is the program director of the ACGME Micrographic Surgery and Dermatologic Oncology fellowship, a training program in cutaneous oncology and Mohs and cutaneous reconstructive surgery. 

Dr. Nehal has served on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network panel for nonmelanoma skin cancers for the past two decades developing evidence based clinical practice guidelines. She was also an expert panel member for the American Joint Committee on Cancer to create the first staging system for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Nehal has served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Professors of Dermatology and the Dermatology Foundation and is the Secretary for the Manhattan Metropolitan Dermatologic Society. She is an advisor to the AMA-CPT Dermatology committee, leads the Fellowship Training Committee for the American College of Mohs Surgery, and serves on the Test Writing Committee of the American Board of Dermatology. Dr. Nehal is also a member of the American Dermatological Association and on the Editorial Board of the British Journal of Dermatology.