Joseph A. Bernstein is a native of Maryland and received his undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA in 1997. He received his degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine in 2002. He completed an internship in companion animal medicine and surgery at Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital followed by a three-year residency in dermatology at Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. With an interest in cutaneous oncology, he instituted the first veterinary program for Mohs micrographic surgery for the removal of locally invasive skin cancers. His other research lay in the field of non-human primate dermatology. He became a board-certified diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Dermatology (ACVD) in 2006 and has established his private practice in Baltimore County, Maryland [citation].