Rate My Professor Elise Olsen

Elise A. Olsen, MD, is Professor of Dermatology and Medicine with Tenure at Duke University. She earned her MD from Baylor University in 1978, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of North Carolina Memorial Hospital from 1978 to 1980, and a dermatology residency at Duke University Medical Center from 1980 to 1983. Dr. Olsen has held her appointment as Professor of Dermatology since 1999 and as Professor in Medicine since 2012. She is a faculty member of the Departments of Dermatology and Medicine (Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy), a member of the Duke Cancer Institute, and a member of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. She serves as Duke’s representative to the NCCN for T-cell lymphoma and cutaneous B-cell lymphoma and is a member of the Duke Misconduct in Research Committee.

Dr. Olsen is the founder and director of the Duke Dermatopharmacology Study Center, the Duke Cutaneous Lymphoma Research and Treatment Center, and the Duke Hair Disorders Research and Treatment Center. Her expertise centers on cutaneous lymphoma and hair disorders. She has been involved in more than 170 dermatological and oncologic clinical studies, including Phase I–IV, pharmaceutical, FDA-sponsored, and investigator-initiated protocols. She is the founder and first president of the United States Cutaneous Lymphoma Consortium and past president and secretary-treasurer of the International Society for Cutaneous Lymphoma. She chaired the development of evaluation, classification, and clinical trial guidelines for mycosis fungoides and Sézary syndrome and leads a task force on standardized methodology for assessing hair loss. In 2026, Dr. Olsen received the Dermatology Foundation’s Lifetime Career Educator Award. She previously received the 2021 Honorary Member designation from the American Academy of Dermatology and the 2018 International League of Dermatological Societies Certificate of Appreciation. She has mentored numerous dermatology residents, fellows, and medical students and led the dermatology elective for medical students from 1983 to 1996.

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