James F. Holmes appointed chair of Emergency Medicine

The UC Davis School of Medicine has named James F. Holmes as the permanent chair and Bo Tomas Brofeldt Endowed Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. Holmes has served as interim chair since July 2024.

“Dr. Holmes is a nationally recognized leader in his field,” said Susan Murin, UC Davis School of Medicine dean. “We are confident that his continued leadership and vision will build upon the Department of Emergency Medicine's many achievements in all our mission areas.”

With more than three decades of service at UC Davis Health, Holmes is a distinguished clinical epidemiologist whose research focuses on the initial evaluation and care of injured patients — particularly children. His work has significantly advanced understanding of CT utilization following trauma. One example is his recent study that validated prediction rules for intra-abdominal injury (IAI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. This work, developed in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), has safely decreased unnecessary CT use in injured children. 

Holmes also has led many research initiatives and programs. He founded the UC Davis Emergency Medicine Research Fellowship and co-directed the department’s K12 Research Training Program. He currently directs the Clinical Translational Science Center’s KL2 Research Training Program.

In 2020-21, Holmes served as the president of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. He helped to successfully lead the organization through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I am deeply honored to step into this new role within the Department of Emergency Medicine,” shared Holmes. “It is a privilege to collaborate with our exceptional faculty and staff as we build on the department’s many accomplishments and continue to advance our missions in patient care, education and research.”

Holmes earned his undergraduate degree at Auburn University and his medical degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham. He completed his emergency medicine residency at UC Davis Medical Center, where he served as chief resident in his final year. He later obtained a master of public health in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley.