June 22, 2005

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Two longtime faculty members at the UC Davis School of Medicine were named this week as executive associate deans.

Following a national search by the school, Ann Bonham, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Pharmacology, has been appointed Executive Associate Dean for Research and Education. Thomas Nesbitt, professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, has been appointed Executive Associate Dean for Administrative and Clinical Outreach. Both appointments are effective July 1.

Fred Meyers, professor and chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, also was appointed to a new administrative position, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Bonham had been serving as acting Executive Associate Dean of the School of Medicine since March 1. The responsibilities of her new position include coordinating and developing biomedical research, including basic translational and clinical research; identifying and promoting interdisciplinary research and technological advances to explore frontiers in modern medicine; seek new funding opportunities among industry, public funding sources and collaborative research programs; and overseeing all graduate student and postdoctoral training.

In concert with Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for Human Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, Bonham will set goals for department chairs and division chiefs to develop critical areas of research. She also will be responsible for ensuring that research protocols at UC Davis Health System are in compliance with state and federal guidelines.

Pomeroy said, “Dr. Bonham has been a terrific leader of both a clinical and a basic science department, and she is highly regarded by both faculty and administrators. She exemplifies the School of Medicine’s emphasis on combining research, education and mentoring as interwoven and inseparable missions.”

Bonham has been on the UC Davis faculty since 1989. Her research interests focus on central nervous system regulation of cardiovascular and respiratory functions and how gender, environmental pollutants, and changes in physiological states or pathophysiological states alter this regulation. She has a long track record of National Institute of Health funding for her research, serves on various NIH advisory councils and is an editor of the Journal of Physiology. She has been awarded the UC Davis Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching Basic Science to Medicine twice.

The new Executive Associate Dean for Administrative and Clinical Outreach, Thomas Nesbitt, also is Associate Dean for Outreach, Continuing Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education. In his new position, Nesbitt’s responsibilities will include ensuring the responsible use of School of Medicine, health system and university resources to support the institution’s missions; ensuring that the school’s faculty and staff have the highest quality, state-of-the art care in alignment with the academic missions of the school; expanding interactions with regional and community partners; pursuing innovative technologies to improve access to high-quality health care; and overseeing all development activities, including the enhancement of fund raising and the stewardship of donated funds.

Pomeroy said, “Dr. Nesbitt has keen insights into challenges affecting the health system and his focus on building partnerships will be of immense benefit to the school, the medical center and the university. He has built a strong, national reputation as an innovative leader in the field of telemedicine and the application of telecommunications technology to health care.”

A graduate of both UC Davis and the UC Davis School of Medicine, Nesbitt has been on the UC Davis faculty since 1988. He has been medical director of the health system’s Telemedicine Clinic since 1997, and director of the UC Davis Center for Health and Technology since 1999.

The new position of Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs is designed to enhance faculty recruitment and retention programs. While serving in his new role, Meyers will continue as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Meyers has been a member of the UC Davis faculty since 1982. As Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Meyers will be responsible for oversight of all academic affairs, with a special focus on faculty recruitment, retention, mentoring, development and issues of faculty diversity. He will supervise the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity, and the director for Faculty Development.

“Dr. Meyers has an impressive record of achievements over many years as division chief and then as chair of the largest and most complex department in the school,” said Pomeroy. “He has a proven track record in managing faculty personnel issues and developing effective programs for faculty development.”

Meyers is a nationally recognized expert on hospice and palliative care. He is the founding director of the School of Medicine’s West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research. In 2003, the program was one of only three organizations in the country to receive a Circle of Life Award, intended to honor programs that have made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care.