UC Davis chief of fetal and pediatric surgery Shinjiro Hirose was appointed surgeon-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital. He has served as chief of pediatric surgery, vice chair of surgery and founder and director of the UC Davis Fetal Care and Treatment Center.

Hirose, who started in the new position last month, succeeds internationally renowned fetal and neonatal surgeon Diana Farmer, chair of the UC Davis Department of Surgery. Farmer is a distinguished professor and the Pearl Stamps Stewart Endowed Chair. She’s also the founder and co-director of the Department of Surgery Center for Surgical Bioengineering.  

“I could not be more thrilled to be passing this leadership role to the capable hands of Dr. Hirose,” Farmer said. “His strategic vision and successful execution have reorganized and modernized children’s surgical care for UC Davis and the entire Sacramento region.”

Hirose is one of the creators of the University of California Fetal Consortium. The consortium is a statewide collaboration at all five fetal treatment programs at the University of California medical centers. Farmer and Hirose are also currently serving as co-presidents of the International Fetal Medicine and Surgery Society.

In addition to his background in fetal medicine, Hirose is a nationally recognized children's cancer surgeon and an expert in complex liver and bile duct conditions in infants and young children. He has also been a leader in the development and use of surgical robotics in children.

Hirose has a joint appointment as the director of pediatric surgery at Shriners Children’s Northern California. He treats the full spectrum of complex surgical conditions from fetuses with birth defects to children with cancer.

His affiliations include:

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Pediatric Surgical Association
• International Fetal Medicine Surgery Society
• International Pediatric Endosurgery Group
• American College of Surgeons
• Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons