Tareen Family Department of Dermatology
As work continues to build the first dermatology residency program in North Dakota, the Tareen Family Department of Dermatology aims to fill a significant shortage of dermatology providers across the state and upper midwest.
Department Chair
I am inspired by the opportunity to help shape a future where every North Dakotan has access to timely, comprehensive, and cutting-edge dermatologic care, regardless of geography.Dr. Erin Barrett (Wei)
Our Mission
As the only university-based Department of Dermatology in the Dakotas, our team is setting the groundwork for a sustainable academic pipeline across much of the northwestern and northern Great Plains.
Currently, there is no ACGME-certified dermatology residency between Minneapolis and Seattle. A lack of training infastructure has led to persistent workforce shortages, reduced recruitment, and limited access to subspecialty dermatologic care across the upper midwest. The state of North Dakota is no exception:
Direct care physicians with a primary specilaty of dermatology working in North Dakota in 2025.
AMA Physician Professional Data
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses with a practice setting of dermatology working in North Dakota in 2025.
North Dakota Board of Nursing
North Dakota's nationwide rank in dermatologists per capita (one for every 39,354 people).
U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration's Area Health Resource File
Dermatology workforce (one MD and three ARPNs) practicing in rural areas in North Dakota in 2025.
AMA Physician Professional Data, North Dakota Board of Nursing
With a focus on rural healthcare expansion, the Tareen Family Department of Dermatology's vision is to bring quality skin care to every North Dakotan, including:
- Reducing patient wait times
- An increase in cutting-edge dermatologic care
- More access to novel therapeutics and clinical trials
Drs. Mohiba and Basir Tareen
Our Founding
The University of North Dakota Department of Dermatology was established in 2026 with the help of a $5 million gift from Mohiba and Basir Tareen. A 2002 graduate of North Dakota’s only interprofessional school of medicine and health sciences, Dr. Basir Tareen is a Cavalier, N.D., native who, when not practicing urology in the Twin Cities, manages Tareen Development Partners, a real estate development firm focused on building and preserving affordable housing communities across the United States.
Basir’s wife Mohiba is a board-certified dermatologist who founded Tareen Dermatology in 2011 in Roseville, Minn. His father, Jamil Tareen, served as a rural surgeon in Cavalier for more than 35 years.
Message From The Chair
Welcome to the Department of Dermatology at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
It is my privilege to serve as Chair of Dermatology and as the Tareen Endowed Chair of Dermatology. We are building a department with a bold and important mission: to advance academic dermatology, expand access to exceptional patient care, develop the next generation of dermatologists, and bring new opportunities to the communities we serve.
As a major academic medical center, we have a unique opportunity to combine excellence in clinical care, education, research, and innovation. We are committed to expanding access to comprehensive dermatologic care throughout North Dakota and the Upper Midwest, including rural and underserved communities. Our vision includes access to advanced therapies, subspecialty expertise, and clinical trials so that geography does not determine the quality or opportunities available to our patients.
At the heart of this vision is the development of a premier academic dermatology training program. We want to inspire talented students and physicians to believe that a career in dermatology is possible for them, regardless of where they come from. Through mentorship, education, research, and exceptional clinical training, we aim to cultivate the next generation of dermatologists and future leaders in our field.
Our geographic position gives us an extraordinary opportunity to build a regional center of excellence in academic dermatology. We envision becoming the only academic dermatology training program across the vast region between Seattle and Minneapolis, creating a destination for dermatologic education, research, innovation, and patient care.
Our goal is not simply to grow a department. Our goal is to build a nationally recognized academic dermatology program that expands access to care, advances clinical research, develops an outstanding workforce, and inspires people to believe they can become dermatologists.
I invite you to explore our department, meet our team, and join us as we shape the future of dermatology in our region and beyond.
Sincerely,
Erin Barrett (Wei), MD, MBA, FAAD
Professor & Chair of Dermatology
University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Chair, Sanford Health Fargo Dermatology
Tareen Family Endowed Chair of Dermatology