Frederick J. Meyers, M.D., M.A.C.P.

Executive Associate Dean

Q&A with Fred

What do you do?

The Executive Associate Dean has two primary functions. First is to make things work. I ensure that faculty and staff have the support they need and the systems in place to pursue all of our missions and achieve excellence. My role is to facilitate those processes. Second, my success can be judged on how I promote innovation by encouraging faculty, students, residents, fellows and staff to integrate our research, teaching, patient care and public service missions into their daily work. I get excited when I find individuals whose diverse intellectual disciplines and training backgrounds result in the discovery of new solutions that address the health-care challenges that face our community and nation. Innovation will distinguish UC Davis and enable us to improve the health of the communities that we serve. And when that happens, we can always feel good -- but never satisfied.

What do you enjoy about your current work?

I am trained as an internist and a medical oncologist. I have built my entire career on working collaboratively with faculty, nurses, social workers, basic science and laboratory researchers, and staff to advance education and research with the goal of delivering outstanding clinical care. I am passionate about teaching cancer medicine to patients and to students at all levels and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to serve in this capacity for so many years. I am equally passionate about conducting cancer research, which is improving the care of cancer patients every day.

At this point in my career I have transferred my passions to mentor clinical and translational research scholars, medical students and my colleagues. My goal is to help them refine their skills and abilities, growing the tradition of excellence at UC Davis. Through my oncology practice and for 22 years as medical director of the UC Davis Hospice Program, I have seen the impact of learning to communicate effectively, of maintaining hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, and of remaining optimistic about our future. The UC Davis and Sacramento communities have provided me a welcome home where these ideals flourish.

Frederick J. Meyers, M.D., M.A.C.P., executive associate dean, oversees the research, teaching, clinical care and community engagement missions of the medical school and closely coordinates with the leadership across the health system to advance the health of patients and their families.

A member of the UC Davis faculty since 1982, Meyers has distinguished himself as a national expert in hematology and oncology, with a special emphasis on cancer molecular biology, metastatic cancer, end-of-life care and pain management. He served as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine for 12 years, senior associate dean for academic affairs and medical director of home health services.

Under Meyers’ visionary leadership, the Department of Internal Medicine flourished as a productive and dynamic center of academic medicine. With a focus on translating basic science research into clinical therapies and advancing the practice of evidence-based medicine, the department’s academic and clinical programs have made high-impact innovations to advance health.

Meyers is a longtime leader of the hospice movement in the United States, establishing programs that are now national models for providing compassionate, end-of-life care. He is well-known for his work in “simultaneous care,” a model of care that allows cancer patients with advanced disease to receive both investigational treatments and palliative care.

In recognition of his pioneering role in the field, Meyers was elected a Master of the American College of Physicians, the nation’s largest medical specialty organization. As founding director of the School of Medicine’s West Coast Center for Palliative Care, Education and Research, he was recognized with the prestigious Circle of Life Award and the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association’s Excellence in Palliative Medicine award.

Meyers also has focused his research on cancer molecular biology, metastatic cancer and pain management. He has conducted numerous clinical trials on prostate cancer and gene expression in renal cell carcinoma.

Meyers obtained his medical degree from the UC San Francisco School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency training at UC Davis Medical Center. He has board certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine in hematology, medical oncology, and hospice and palliative medicine.