Quality, Experience, and Compassion
Dr. Anir Dhir was born in Detroit to immigrant parents from Germany and India. After graduating with a B.S. in Biomedical & Electrical Engineering with honors from the University of Texas at Austin, he attended Baylor College of Medicine, where he was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha - the medical honor society. He completed his Dermatology residency at Emory University in Atlanta and then pursued a fellowship in Mohs surgery and facial reconstruction in Birmingham, Alabama with world-renowned Gary Monheit, MD – a Tucson native and Past President of the American College of Mohs Surgery, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery.
From 1999 to 2015, Dr. Dhir was a partner with Dermatology Associates of Kentucky in Lexington. He was the busiest Mohs surgeon in Kentucky, where he performed 30,000 Mohs surgeries with a cure rate of over 99.5% and an infection rate of 0.2%. He served as the Medical Director of the only Medicare- and AAAHC-accredited ambulatory surgery center (ASC) ever built in Kentucky dedicated to dermatologic surgery. In 2003, Dr. Dhir was first elected to Best Doctors in America by his colleagues - an honor awarded to the Top 4% of U.S. Physicians. Since 2004, he has also been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor - a recognition given to only 7% of all U.S. board-certified physicians. Dr. Dhir has authored several publications and served as faculty at numerous national scientific meetings. He has been interviewed as a dermatologic expert on ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and in publications such as Newsweek. Dr. Dhir was first board-certified by the American Board of Dermatology in 1998 and has been a Fellow in the American College of Mohs Surgery since 1999. He also carries subspecialty board certification in Micrographic Dermatologic Surgery.
After raising their children, Dr. Dhir’s love of the Southwest and recognition of Tucson’s skin cancer epidemic led him and Nathalie to relocate to Tucson in 2017. Dr. Dhir practiced with HealthySkin Dermatology for 3 years before opening Arizona Mohs Surgery & Dermatology in 2020. In Tucson, he and his team have performed 13,000 Mohs surgeries. His goal is to use his significant Mohs surgical and ASC management experience to deliver compassionate, ASC-level surgical care in a less expensive, more comfortable office setting.
Shelby Coplen, PA-C, joined our experienced team in 2024. She is a Physician Assistant who has practiced medical dermatology in Tucson since 2018. Shelby is originally from Indiana, where she attended Indiana University and obtained a Bachelor of Science in Biology with honors in 2014. She was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa academic honors society through a selective, merit-based invitation process. Shelby continued her education at the prestigious Butler University, where she received her Masters of Physician Assistant Studies degree in 2017.
Shelby started her career working in gastroenterology, where she gained experience working with many conditions that have associated dermatologic complications including inflammatory bowel disease and liver cirrhosis. She then started working in dermatology and is passionate about early detection and prevention of skin cancer. She is a member of the Society of Dermatology Physician Associates and has completed the rigorous SDPA Diplomat Fellowship program - a training program for PAs in dermatology. She has extensive experience in skin cancer screenings, non-surgical treatment of skin cancer, and treatment of chronic dermatological conditions such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea, and acne. Shelby currently resides in Tucson with her husband, who recently completed his PhD degree at UA. In her free time, Shelby enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and young daughter.
B.S. in Biomedical / Electrical Engineering with Honors
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 1990
Baylor College of Medicine with Honors, Houston, Texas, 1994
Internship, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, 1995
Dermatology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1998
Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology
Gary Monheit, MD, Birmingham, Alabama, 1999
Mohs Micrographic Surgery for Skin Cancer (43,000 cases performed)
Best Doctors in America, 2003-12, 2015-2022
Castle Connolly Top Doctor, 2004-2025
Hewlett Packard Top Medical Graduate Award (Top 5 Students), 1994
Alpha Omega Alpha (medical honor society), 1993
Engineering Scholar Award (Top 5%), 1990
Arizona, Kentucky (inactive), and Florida (inactive)
Family, Physical Fitness, Automotive Racing, Cooking
Radical Cup Prototype Racing Series, Rookie of the Year, 2017
We are most grateful for the extraordinary skill and care you demonstrated when performing surgery last week. We are pleased beyond measure with your expertise.
When it comes to being a great doctor, you more than fill the prescription. I'm so very fortunate to have you for my dermatologist.
I just wanted to drop you a line to tell you how happy I am concerning the care you gave me. I tend to be quite critical of everything from medical service to cereal box design. I even rate things on the traditional A to F scale. I have never rated anything an A plus but Mohs broke through!
I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate the care, concern, and compassion you showed me yesterday when I was in for surgery. Thanks so much for explaining everything to me and for being so thorough. You have a wonderful manner about you and you really set my mind at ease. Your willingness to allow me to call you at home put you over the top! I have great respect for you and will not hesitate referring others to you. Thank you again for sharing your gifts with me.
I know you don't remember me, but you removed a skin cancer from the side of my nose. I jokingly asked you to make me beautiful. My nose looks wonderful! You have to look very carefully to see you incision. I am very happy and pleased with my nose. You and your staff treated me with so much care. I really appreciate it. Something that was so scary to me was handled so that I felt reassured and comfortable. Thank you for your care of me. Affectionately, your patient.
I feel that my surgery experience was much more pleasant than I had expected because of your expertise along with your gentle, caring nature. You can't know how much that unexpected phone call meant to me. Comments from family and friends have been that they cannot believe that it has been only a week since the surgery when they saw my forehead. I think they consider you a magician, too!! I hope I never need this type of surgery again but will not be concerned. Thank you.
Thanks again for your patience with your patients.
I just want to thank all of you for being so nice to me and treating me really good. It’s people like you all that make life worth living and make people want to go on. Again, thank you for everything you done for me. I will never forget your kindness. Love all of you so much. Thank you!
Thank you for the very professional and personal care you and your staff provided me yesterday. No one looks forward to surgery of any kind. But your manner and clarity of explanations help to set me at ease. Your staff was very warm, very caring, yet very professional. They explained each part of the process, leaving no uncertainties in my mind about what to expect next. It was very assuring as we moved through the procedure.
The word "courteous" carries an image by which I can think of my happy experience. I was treated as if I were a royal personage, an honored guest at the court of a king. The king’s royal physician performed the surgery! Please accept my thanks, Dr. Anir Dhir, for this memorable experience.
