Maria Susana Ortiz Urda, MD, PhD, MBA

San Francisco - Face, Skin and Body Facial Plastic, Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery

Meet Dr. Maria Susana Ortiz Urda, a world-class dermatologist and melanoma researcher dedicated to delivering exceptional skin care through the most advanced diagnostics, therapeutics, and aesthetic treatments available in medicine today.

Dr. Ortiz Urda's Bio

Dr. Maria Susana Ortiz Urda is an internationally recognized dermatologist and skin cancer scientist, board-certified by the American Board of Dermatology and serving concurrently as Associate Professor in Residence in the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco and Director of the UCSF Melanoma Program. She earned her MD and PhD from the University of Vienna, completed postdoctoral training in epithelial biology and her dermatology residency at Stanford University, and pursued a specialized research fellowship in dermatologic oncology at UCSF. She also holds an MBA from New York University. Her successful practice at The Maas Clinic in San Francisco's Pacific Heights district serves patients seeking the most rigorous, research-informed dermatologic care available.

Research Leadership & the Science of Skin

A published scientist of international standing, Dr. Ortiz Urda has authored or co-authored more than 55 peer-reviewed publications in journals including Nature Communications Medicine, Molecular Cancer, Science, and JAMA Dermatology. Her laboratory's research on long non-coding RNAs in melanoma led to a UCSF-licensed patent and the founding of Spartia Therapeutics in 2022, a biotech company advancing RNA-targeted oncology treatments. She has received major awards from the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health, the Melanoma Research Alliance, and the Melanoma Research Foundation, and is the lead author of Melanoma: From Diagnosis to Therapy, published by Springer in 2024.

The UCSF Melanoma Program

Dr. Ortiz Urda is the Director of the Melanoma Program at UCSF Mt. Zion, a dedicated clinical and research program focused on the evaluation and treatment of patients at high risk for melanoma and other skin cancers. The program serves patients with genetic predispositions to cancer, organ transplant recipients, patients with hematologic malignancies, and individuals experiencing cutaneous side effects from immunotherapy or chemotherapy. The multidisciplinary team she leads integrates dermatology, pathology, laboratory science, and bioinformatics to deliver individualized treatment approaches informed by the latest advances in cancer biology.

As Director, Dr. Ortiz Urda supervises participating clinical trials, teaches dermatology residents and fellows in outpatient clinic settings, and leads a laboratory program devoted to transcriptomics and melanoma genetics. Her dual role as clinician and scientist allows her to bring emerging research directly to bear on patient care in a way few practitioners can offer.

Dr. Maria Susana Ortiz Urda MD Curriculum Vitae:

Education

1991-1998 University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria, M.D.
1995-1998 University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Ph.D. (Biology)

Postgraduate Education

1998-1999 Research Fellow, Dermatology, University of Vienna
2000-2001 Research Resident, Dermatology, AKH Vienna
2001-2005 Postdoctoral Fellow, Epithelial Biology, Stanford University
2005-2006 Intern, Medicine, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, New York
2006-2010 Resident, Dermatology, Stanford University
2009-2010 Research Fellow, Dermatology-Oncology, University of California, San Francisco
2013-2015 MBA, New York University

Licensure

2008 Medical Licensure, California

Board Certification

2013 American Board of Dermatology

Employment

2010-2015 HS Assistant Clinical Professor, Dermatology, UCSF
2015-2019 Assistant Professor in Residence, Dermatology, UCSF
2019-Present Associate Professor in Residence, Dermatology, UCSF
2007-Present Professor in Experimental Dermatology, University of Vienna
2011-Present Director, Melanoma Program, UCSF
2022-Present Founder, Spartia Therapeutics
2024-Present The Maas Clinic™, Dermatology & Melanoma Program

Honors and Awards

2007 Kardinal-Innitzer-Foerderungspreis for Outstanding Science in Dermatology, University of Vienna
2008 Unilever Award, Austrian Society for Dermatology and Venerology
2011 American Cancer Society Individual Research Award
2011 American Skin Association Scholar Award
2011 Dermatology Foundation Career Development Award
2011 K08 Award, National Institutes of Health
2013 Melanoma Research Alliance Young Investigator Award
2015 Cancer Research Coordinating Committee Award
2016 American Skin Association Award
2019 Impact Melanoma Award
2019, 2024 Verein zur Förderung der Dermatologischen Forschung Award
2020 Honorary Member, Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology
2020 Melanoma Research Foundation Humanitarian Award

Membership in Professional Organizations

2006-Present Member – American Academy of Dermatology
2013-Present Member – American Board of Dermatology
2002-Present Member – Society of Investigative Dermatology
2012-Present Member – Society for Melanoma Research
2002-Present Member – Austrian Society for Dermatology and Venerology
2010-Present Member – Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
2013-Present Member – San Francisco Dermatological Society
2015-Present Member – Melanoma Research Alliance
2017-Present Member – AIM at Melanoma
2013-Present Member – Dermatology Foundation

Service to Professional Organizations

2010-Present Committee Member, Spanish Academy of Dermatology and Venereology
2012-Present Committee Member, Society of Investigative Dermatology
2014-Present Committee Member, Austrian Society for Dermatology and Venerology
2014-Present Education Service, American Academy of Dermatology
2015-Present Session Chair, Melanoma Research Alliance
2017-Present Education Service, AIM at Melanoma

Publications

Dr. Ortiz Urda is the author or co-author of more than 55 peer-reviewed publications and is a reviewer for Archives of Dermatology, PNAS, and Oncotarget. Selected publications include:

Feichtenschlager V, Zheng Y, et al. Suppression of NRAS-mutant melanoma growth with NRAS-targeting ASO treatment reveals therapeutically relevant kinase co-dependencies. Nature Communications Medicine, 2025.
Feichtenschlager V, Chen L, et al. The therapeutically actionable long non-coding RNA 'T-RECS' is essential to cancer cells' survival in NRAS/MAPK-driven melanoma. Molecular Cancer, 2024.
Feichtenschlager V, Zheng Y, et al. Deconstructing the role of MALAT1 in MAPK-signaling in melanoma. Oncotarget, 2023.
Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, et al. Pembrolizumab cutaneous adverse events and their association with disease progression. JAMA Dermatology, 2015.
Posch C, Moslehi H, et al. Combined targeting of MEK and PI3K/mTOR effector pathways is necessary to effectively inhibit NRAS mutant melanoma in vitro and in vivo. PNAS, 2013.
Ortiz-Urda S, Garcia J, et al. Type VII collagen is required for Ras-driven human epidermal tumorigenesis. Science, 2005.

Books, Chapters, and Creative Work

Ortiz Urda S (lead author): Melanoma: From Diagnosis to Therapy. Springer, 2024.
Ortiz Urda S: Contributing chapters. Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine, 9th and 10th Editions.