Dr. Bonnie F. Straka
Medical Director
Board Certified Dermatologist

Dr. Bonnie Straka is the president, founder, and medical director of Albemarle Dermatology Associates and Signature Medical Spa. A board certified dermatologist serving medical, surgical, and aesthetic patients in Charlottesville since 1991, she is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology, the Virginia Dermatology Society and the Medical Society of Virginia, as well as the National Psoriasis Foundation, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, and the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery.  A summa cum laude graduate of Williams College, she received her medical degree from the University of Connecticut Medical School and trained as a resident in dermatology at the University of Virginia where she also serves as an adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology. 

By 2005, the demand for aesthetic/cosmetic services among Dr. Straka’s patients and the patients of the dermatologists she employs had grown so large that in order to better serve both medical patients and aesthetic patients she decided to form a division of the practice known as Signature Medical Spa, the first business of its kind in the Charlottesville area.  Unlike the more familiar day spas, a medical spa is a facility that operates under the full-time, on-site supervision of a physician offering a broad range of medical wellness or aesthetic care.  Dr. Straka’s vision for Signature is that it be the premiere medical spa in Central Virginia, offering patients the latest in non-invasive and minimally-invasive aesthetic procedures they might normally have to travel to larger cities to obtain.  Dr. Straka now employs three other dermatologists (Drs. Lockman, Pearce, and Derdeyn), five nurses, and four full-time aestheticians.  Through Signature, these practitioners offer a wide array of cosmetic/aesthetic procedures in a nurturing and comfortable environment.  The foundation for these services is a team-oriented, comprehensive consultation that takes into account a patient’s complete medical history along with his or her desire for improvements in appearance and ongoing skin care needs.

Another important part of Dr. Straka’s vision for Signature Medical Spa is community service.  To that end, Signature donates a percentage of all product sales to various charities on a rotating basis.  Signature is also developing, in conjunction with Albemarle Dermatology and Signature’s planned move into a new building this winter, a skin care education center that will provide free-of-charge educational programming and seminars to individuals seeking information about everything from various treatment modalities to cosmetics.  On a personal note, Dr. Straka, who is married to the novelist Andy Straka, is also the international consulting dermatologist for Love Without Boundries, an organization dedicated to providing desperately needed medical care to orphans throughout China.