What Boards University does

Boards University® operates an online medical education platform purpose-built for dermatology residents preparing for their CORE and APPLIED board examinations. The company is organized as Boards University® LLC under Alaska law, headquartered in Anchorage, and was co-founded by four board-certified dermatologists — Drs. Mona Gohara, Nazanin Saedi, Omar Ibrahimi, and Kavita Mariwalla — with a faculty of 25+ board-certified lecturers drawn from institutions including Yale, Harvard, NYU, Princeton, and UC Irvine. Content is organized across five subject areas (Medical Dermatology, Surgical Dermatology, Pathology, Pediatric Dermatology, and Cosmetics) and delivered through a web-based platform combining recorded video lectures, PDFs, Anki flashcard decks, Kodachromes for visual diagnosis, and the daily 21@21 live lecture series at 9 PM.

The platform distributes primarily through community-driven channels: senior residents refer junior colleagues, Instagram is used for live-session reminders, and the website provides self-serve registration. Strategic partnerships include dermatopathology content from Sagis DX (led by Thomas Davis, MD), cross-promotion with The Derm5 Substack publication, and a brand collaboration with Neutrogena producing the 'Boards U x Neutrogena: Photobiology' lecture. The trademark "Boards University®" is registered for medical education services.

The business model is freemium, with free membership granted upon NPI verification for US dermatology residents/fellows and residency/fellowship documentation for international participants. No paid subscription tier, external funding rounds, headcount figures, or revenue metrics are disclosed in the available source data. The "Boards University®" brand is the only registered intellectual property, and the company has no subsidiaries or parent entity.

Name

Boards University

Legal name

Boards University® LLC

Website

https://boardsuniversity.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Boards University is a freemium online medical education platform serving dermatology residents and fellows with free board exam preparation content, including daily live lectures, a recorded video library, Anki decks, and Kodachromes spanning five dermatology subspecialties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Education — Dermatology Board Exam Preparation

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare Licensing, Accreditation & Credentialing Boards (HLAJACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA), Test Item Banks, Question Authoring & Assessment Design Tools (EDAFADAC)

Keywords

• Dermatology board exam prep
• Medical education platform
• Live lecture series
• Residency exam preparation
• Dermatology continuing education

Headquarters

HQ city

Anchorage

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Free Membership for Residents: Free membership for dermatology residents and fellows with valid NPI numbers. The platform appears to operate as a freemium model with core educational content provided at no cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Boards University is a unified online medical education platform that provides dermatology board exam preparation through a Lesson Library of recorded video lectures, Kodachromes, Anki flashcard decks, and supplementary notes, combined with live daily evening lectures (the 21@21 series). Content is organized by exam type (CORE and APPLIED) and by five subject areas: Medical Dermatology, Surgical Dermatology, Pediatric Dermatology, Pathology, and Cosmetics, and is delivered free of charge to verified dermatology residents and fellows.

Product overview

Boards University is a unified online medical education platform specifically designed for dermatology residents preparing for their CORE and APPLIED board examinations. The platform operates as a single integrated service combining a Lesson Library of recorded content with live lecture sessions (including the daily 21@21 evening series). Content is organized by topic areas: Medical Dermatology, Surgical Dermatology, Pathology, Pediatric Dermatology, and Cosmetics, with supplementary Kodachromes (clinical image reviews), Anki Decks, and Dr. Maniam's Notes. Users can access content through free registration with a valid NPI (for US derm residents/fellows) or valid residency/fellowship program verification (for non-US residents).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sagis DXcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSagis DX, led by Thomas Davis, MD, is a strategic partner providing dermatopathology content. The partnership includes educational lectures and collaboration on diagnostic pathology topics relevant to dermatology board exams.
• The Derm5minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Derm5, a Substack publication, is listed as a partner organization, providing cross-promotional and content collaboration opportunities within the dermatology community.
• NeutrogenacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on educational content including 'Boards U x Neutrogena: Photobiology' lecture featuring Kavita Mariwalla, MD and Josh Williams, Ph.D, combining brand partnership with medical education content.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BoardVitals: Board-prep platform offering question banks and study materials across many medical specialties including dermatology. Directly comparable as a peer in board-certification exam preparation targeting residents and fellows.
• TrueLearn: Board-review question bank platform with multiple medical specialties. Closely comparable online exam-prep product and target customer base of medical residents preparing for board certification.
• Lecturio: Video-based medical education platform with exam-prep courses spanning preclinical and clinical specialties. Directly comparable as an online video-lecture medical education company targeting medical learners.
• Osmosis (Elsevier): Visual medical education platform with video libraries, flashcards, and question banks for medical students and residents. Comparable digital-learning product and audience, now backed by Elsevier.
• Rosh Review (now Blueprint): Question-bank and board-review platform serving multiple specialties. Directly comparable peer in exam-prep content delivery and resident/board-certification audience.

Emerging players

• DermNet: Free dermatology knowledge resource with extensive image libraries and condition references used by clinicians and trainees. Comparable as a dermatology-focused learning resource, though not exam-prep specific.
• VisualDx: Clinical decision-support and image-based diagnostic reference widely used in dermatology. Partially overlapping with Boards University on image-based dermatology learning (Kodachromes-equivalent), though more clinician-tool than exam-prep.

Others

• American Academy of Dermatology (AAD): Professional society providing dermatology educational resources, including board prep materials and CME. Adjacent ecosystem participant and potential institutional partner or competitor for dermatology-resident mindshare.

Broad incumbents

• UWorld: Dominant exam-prep platform best known for USMLE, with an expanding footprint into medical specialty board review. A larger incumbent with overlapping capabilities but a much broader portfolio beyond dermatology.
• AMBOSS: Medical knowledge and decision-support platform widely used by medical students and residents for study and clinical reference. Comparable as a comprehensive digital learning platform serving similar medical-learner personas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/boardsuniversity?upcoming_event_id=18110335484297469

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Boards University