Dr. Tamara Lazic Strugar

Dr. Tamara Lazic Strugar was born and raised in Serbia and moved from her war-torn homeland to the US at the age of 18. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA where she graduated with the highest honors and various awards, including the Tom Brokaw Award for Life Achievements. Dr. Lazic obtained two degrees from Yale University, completing both her medical school training and internship there. She went on to complete a dermatology residency at Boston University’s Roger Williams Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident and received multiple awards for patient care and academic excellence. In 2012, she accepted an academic position at Mount Sinai’s St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals in New York City. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and has published numerous dermatologic articles and book chapters.

As a full-time dermatologist and mom of two young children, finding time to commit to the children’s books she’s always dreamed of writing was difficult.

After being diagnosed with stage IV cancer in the spring of 2022, she took a break from clinical practice to undergo treatment and dedicated her spare time to writing the SKINVENTUREZ graphic novel series, using storytelling to teach kids about skin health.

When she isn’t writing children’s books or working on skincare consulting projects, and while still fighting cancer, Tamara enjoys spending time with her husband John and their children Mia and Luka, traveling the world every chance they get (including trips to Europe for cancer treatments). They split their time between New York City and Connecticut along with their dogs, Tito and Ginger. It’s Tamara’s hope that her young readers learn valuable lifelong health lessons from her book that stay with them long after the book is closed.

To learn more about Dr. Lazic, visit www.drtamaralazic.com or @drlazicnyc on Instagram.