Elyse S. Rafal

Dr. Elyse S. Rafal, M.D., serves as president and medical director of the Rafal Center for Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery in Stony Brook, New York, where her work spans cosmetic, medical and surgical dermatology. She also founded DermResearchCenter of New York, Inc., where she serves as president and medical director. Following a three-year dermatology residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center, she took on posts at Stony Brook Medical Center as Director of Dermatopharmacology, Director of Outpatient Dermatology and Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology. Since 2000 she has held an Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology appointment at New York Presbyterian Hospital of Weill Cornell Medical Center, and her hospital affiliations include NYU Winthrop Hospital and Northwell/Peconic Bay Medical Center. Her education began with a Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania. She studied at Harvard Medical School, then moved with advanced standing to the State University of New York Health Services Center at Brooklyn (Downstate Medical Center), where she received her Doctor of Medicine with Honors and Distinction in Research. Her internship was at Montefiore Hospital Medical Center. She is board certified in dermatology by the American Board of Dermatology, having been a diplomate since 1993, and has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology since that year. Her research record includes over 300 studies and more than 20 years of experience, including more than 100 grant-funded projects over 30-plus years. Her clinical research with pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies forms part of her practice, and she maintains a computer database of patients with skin, hair and nail conditions. She provides medical direction for laser treatments at the office. She has more than 100 publications, including book chapters, articles, abstracts and presentations, including lead authorship of a New England Journal of Medicine article on photoaging. Her work has also appeared in other peer-reviewed journals such as The Lancet. She gives invited lectures and frequently consults for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Media appearances include CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC, and she hosted a Saturday morning broadcast on LI News Radio.