Dr. Ida Orengo named chair of the Department of Dermatology

Dr. Ida Orengo has been named chair of the Department of Dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine by the College’s Board of Trustees. Her appointment is effective Oct. 17.

Orengo is a graduate of Baylor and has been on the faculty for more than 30 years. She has served as a professor of dermatology since 2004, as an assistant professor of otorhinolaryngology and communicative sciences since 1993, and as the director of Mohs micrographic surgery, a procedure for treating basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas, since 2005.

She also has held the position of assistant chief of dermatology at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center since 1992. Orengo currently serves as the medical director for the Department of Dermatology and is a member of the American College of Mohs Surgery and past procedural dermatology training director for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She is the recipient of the Women in Excellence Award at Baylor. Orengo has published more than 100 articles and has given hundreds of lectures locally, regionally and internationally.

“Dr. Orengo is an accomplished clinician and experienced leader in specialized surgical procedures,” said Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean at Baylor. ”She has mentored many trainees over the years and has a strategic vision for the continued success of the department in the future. I look forward to working with her in the years ahead.”

Orengo earned her undergraduate degree cum laude in biochemistry at Rice University. She earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and later completed her residency in dermatology. She then went on to complete a fellowship in dermatologic and Mohs micrographic surgery at Harvard Medical School. Orengo’s professional interests include Mohs micrographic surgery, cutaneous oncology and skin cancer prevention.

“I am humbled, honored, grateful and excited to be given the opportunity to lead the Department of Dermatology,” Orengo said. “Through collaboration, communication, commitment and innovation, our superb team will provide continued excellence in patient care, along with advancement in skin disease education and renewed research endeavors. I am very proud to be a part of Baylor College of Medicine and enthusiastically look forward to this leadership role.”

Orengo succeeds Dr. John Wolf as chair of the Department of Dermatology. In his decades of service, Wolf developed excellent training programs for medical students, residents and fellows, and assured that patients in Baylor Medicine and affiliated hospital clinics receive outstanding care. He has authored more than 170 publications and delivered more than 1,000 professional lectures, including presentations in nearly 30 countries. Wolf will remain at Baylor as a faculty member.