Venessa Peña-Robichaux, M.D.

Venessa Peña-Robichaux, M.D., is a board-certified dermatologist and assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Dell Medical School. She also serves as the chief of dermatology at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System.

A proud native Texan, Peña graduated with honors from Rice University with a degree in biology. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School, during which she also completed a telemedicine fellowship at the Center for Connected Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Peña completed her internship in pediatrics at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia followed by residency training in dermatology at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. During her dermatology residency, she led the first dermatology telemedicine pilot at Henry Ford Health System, where she was also awarded the Peter Coggan, M.D., Teaching Award, an achievement granted to one out of hundreds of residents. She is board-certified by the American Board of Dermatology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Medical education is one of Peña’s passions. She has clinical expertise in medical and surgical treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa and is the head of the Follicular Disorders Clinic in Austin. Peña is also volunteer staff at CommUnity Care, where she twice received the volunteer faculty award among her peers. In addition to her responsibilities as chief, she is also the clinical supervisor of the resident clinics at the VA, which include general dermatology, surgery and teledermatology. She has authored numerous scientific articles in notable medical journals.

Peña loves living near the Texas Hill Country and during her spare time enjoys being outdoors with her husband and son, hiking, paddle boarding and hanging out on the lake. She also loves to cook and spend time playing with their two small dogs, Oscar and Mini (a dachshund and chiweenie).