More achievements

Lubarsky among medical center CEOs to know

David Lubarsky, M.D., M.B.A., F.A.S.A., CEO of UC Davis Health, has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as among “96 academic medical center CEOs to know” in the country. Since arriving in 2018, Lubarsky has increased the health system’s revenues, tasked his teams with launching digital and AI platforms to deliver more efficient and innovative care to patients, and established key regional partnerships aimed at expanding care to patients throughout Northern California.

Earlier this year, Becker’s recognized Lubarsky as among “60 health system CEO influencers” who are shaping the future of health care. In 2023, he was selected as one of Becker’s “101 academic medical center CEOs to know.” In 2022, he was chosen by Modern Healthcare as one of health care’s “Top 100 Most Influential People.” In 2021, the Sacramento Business Journal named him as a “Most Admired CEO,” and Becker’s Hospital Review honored him as one of America’s “100 Academic Medical Center CEOs to know” in 2023. Also, C-Suite Spotlights selected Lubarsky as one of the “Top 25 CEOs of the Year” and Press Ganey named him “CEO of the Year,” both in 2023.

Ton receives top national recognition for DEI work

Hendry Ton, M.D., M.S., associate vice chancellor for health equity, diversity and inclusion, is among the top 2024 leaders recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review for efforts to create inclusive health care environments. Ton served as director of education at the UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities, where he authored a training program for health care leaders on making culturally and linguistically appropriate system changes at academic, county, and state health organizations. He is also founding medical director of the Transcultural Wellness Center of Asian Pacific Community Counseling. He has presented nationally on cultural competence, education, and system change, and regularly receives teaching, leadership, and community awards for his work with care professionals and underserved communities.

Morrison president of Society for Neuroscience

UC Davis Health neurology professor John Morrison, Ph.D., began term this fall as president-elect of the Society for Neuroscience. Morrison is the director of the California National Primate Research Center at UC Davis and a distinguished professor in the Department of Neurology. With nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries, the society strives to advance neuroscience, support the neuroscience community, advocate for the field, and educate the public. Morrison is taking on a three-year commitment: one year as president-elect, one year as president, and one year as past president. He is the second UC Davis faculty member to be elected president of the society; it’s uncommon for a university to be represented twice.

Pediatrician elected to international academy

Ulfat Shaikh, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., professor of pediatrics and medical director of health care quality at the UC Davis School of Medicine, has been elected to the International Academy of Quality and Safety (IAQS). IAQS recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the field of quality and safety in health care and excellence of leadership within research, academia or service delivery. Shaikh’s expertise lies in measuring performance in health care and supporting clinicians in designing, implementing and evaluating quality improvement initiatives.

Meyers is City Year Sacramento Chair

Fred Meyers, M.D., distinguished professor emeritus of Internal Medicine, Hematology-Oncology at UC Davis School of Medicine, began his term as Board Chair for City Year Sacramento (CYSac), a non-profit that provides service opportunities for young adults in the Oak Park and South Sacramento schools. Meyers has extended development opportunities from high school students to early-career faculty through the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also founded a program focused on cultivating diverse, community-focused physician-scientists.

Emergency Department’s prestigious Lantern Award

The Department of Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Health has been honored by the Emergency Nurses Association with the 2024 Lantern Award. Emergency departments that receive the Lantern Award demonstrate exceptional and innovative leadership, practice, education, advocacy and research performance. The award also recognizes an emergency department’s accomplishments in incorporating evidence-based practice and innovation into emergency care. UC Davis Medical Center is the only emergency department in Sacramento and just one of two hospitals in Northern California to receive the recognition this year. This is UC Davis Health’s second Lantern Award.

Chief of pediatric cardiology receives lifetime achievement award

Frank Ing, M.D., F.A.C.C., M.S.C.A.I., chief of pediatric cardiology at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, has received national recognition from the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). Ing was honored with the organization’s Helping Little Hearts Lifetime Service Award. The award recognizes the work of interventional cardiologists specializing in the treatment of pediatric congenital heart disease. These specialists, SCAI stated, work tirelessly to develop less invasive solutions and optimize outcomes for their young patients. Ing is also co-director of the UC Davis Pediatric Heart Center and professor of pediatrics at the UC Davis School of Medicine.

American Heart Association awards for high-quality heart, stroke care

UC Davis Medical Center has received multiple awards from the American Heart Association for its dedication to life-saving care and best practices for treating heart disease and stroke. The medical center received these achievement awards as part of the Get With The Guidelines program:

• Heart Failure Gold Plus Award – Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
• Coronary Artery Disease STEMI Receiving Gold Plus – Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
• Stroke Gold Plus – Stroke Elite Plus Honor Roll, Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll and Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll
• Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI – Bronze

The awards are part of the Get With The Guidelines program run by the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The program helps ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines, leading to better patient recovery, reduced readmissions, reduced time to receive treatment, and more healthy days at home.

Among top Black health care leaders

Becker’s Hospital Review recently selected David Tom Cooke, M.D., F.A.C.S., the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s new physician-in-chief, as among 231 Black health care leaders to know in 2024. Cooke was recognized by Becker’s in their Clinical Leadership/Diversity and Health Equity subcategory. Cooke is also founding chief of the general thoracic surgery division at UC Davis Health, and the associate director of the cancer center’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility.

Champion of Health Equity honor

Julie Dang, Ph.D., M.P.H., executive director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, has been named by Cancer Health Magazine as one of the top 25 people nationally who is breaking down barriers to cancer health equity. The magazine’s fourth annual Cancer Health 25: Champions of Health Equity award recognizes Americans who are dedicated to defining and responding to health disparities. Dang has also been awarded a National Cancer Institute Mentor Research Scientist Development Award to Promote Diversity, and is using the grant to increase uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Children’s Hospital again named level I Children’s Surgery Center

UC Davis Children’s Hospital has been re-verified as a level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The designation, the highest of three, comes from the ACS Children’s Surgery Verification Quality Improvement Program, and focuses on the nation’s first and only multi-specialty standards of surgical care for pediatric patients. UC Davis Children’s Hospital was the first hospital on the West Coast to earn this distinction nearly a decade ago. A level I Children’s Surgery Center has specialty trained children’s surgeons in every discipline; offers pediatric anesthesiologists round-the-clock; and provides dedicated operating rooms for children available 24 hours a day.

Resident elected to AMA council

Surgical resident Rachel Ekaireb, M.D., was elected to the American Medical Association Council on Science and Public Health. Ekaireb has been active in organized medicine at the state and national levels since medical school, and is currently representing the California Medical Association Resident and Fellow Section on the CMA Board of Trustees. She previously served on the CMA Council on Science and Public Health.

Society for Academic Emergency Medicine research award

James F. Holmes, M.D., M.P.H., executive vice chair and interim chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, received the Excellence in Research Award for his contributions to the field from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM). The award honors a SAEM member who has made outstanding contributions to emergency medicine through the creation and sharing of new knowledge. The organization is dedicated to improving the care of acutely ill and injured patients by improving research and education.

Distinguished lectureship for cardiovascular researcher

The American Physiological Society named Manuel Navedo, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., the 2025 recipient of the Robert M. Berne Distinguished Lectureship, presented annually by the society’s Cardiovascular Section to an established research leader. Navedo is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and an international thought leader with groundbreaking research on novel channel-signaling pathways in the vasculature. For example, he found a network of proteins activated during diabetic hyperglycemia that may contribute to blood vessel dysfunction in people with diabetes.

Three honored for excellence in pediatric care

Three UC Davis Health faculty are being recognized for their excellence in pediatric care and education by the Western Society for Pediatric Research (WSPR) and the Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research. They will honor the faculty at the Western Medical Research Conference next year.

• Daniah Beleford, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology and UC Davis MIND Institute faculty member, receives the WSPR’s 2025 Abbott Nutrition Young Investigator Award.
• Satyan Lakshminrusimha, M.D., M.B.B.S., chair of the Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital, receives the 2025 WSPR Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Education Award.
• Geoanna Bautista, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, receives the 2025 Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research Young Investigator Award.

National award for advancing DEI efforts

The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) recently honored Associate Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine Stephany Sanchez, M.D., with its 2025 AAIM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, which recognizes an individual or team that promotes and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion in their department of medicine. Sanchez is an associate program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at UC Davis Health, and practices primary care at the Sacramento County Health Center.