FRESNO – Established in 1975, UCSF Fresno, the San Joaquin Valley’s largest physician training program, is commemorating its 40th anniversary in 2015 and welcoming new leadership.
UCSF Fresno will celebrate four decades of growing doctors for the San Joaquin Valley at its premier, biennial fundraiser “Valley Visions.” The event will be held on Saturday, April 11 at the Fresno Convention Center Exhibit Hall and will salute UCSF Fresno’s ruby anniversary.
The New Year also brings new leadership at UCSF Fresno. Michael W. Peterson, MD, who has served as chief of medicine since 2002, was named interim associate dean. Dr. Peterson replaces Joan L. Voris, MD, who retired on Jan. 5, 2015, after serving 12 years as associate dean at UCSF Fresno.
Voris had been on faculty at UCSF Fresno since 1990. From the time of her appointment as associate dean, the number of core faculty at UCSF Fresno increased from 77 to 229. The number of residents and fellows trained on an annual basis rose from 172 to 298, representing a 70 percent increase in physicians trained at UCSF Fresno. All but one of the 17 fellowship programs at UCSF Fresno were established under her leadership.
Peterson was recruited to UCSF Fresno twelve years ago as the Valley Medical Foundation Professor of Medicine, UCSF Fresno Chief of Medicine and UCSF Vice Chair of Medicine. During his tenure in Fresno, Peterson oversaw the growth of the Medicine Residency Program from 45 trainees to its current 68 trainees and the development of six subspecialty fellowships with 30 current fellows in training. He also successfully led the fundraising effort to build out the UCSF Fresno Clinical Research Center, which opened in 2013.
“I am honored to serve as interim associate dean and look forward to continuing the mission of recruiting and training the best and brightest physicians to care for community members as well as conducting research that is important to Valley patients,” said Peterson. “In collaboration with and thanks to our many partners, faculty, medical residents, students, donors and staff, UCSF Fresno has been improving health in the San Joaquin Valley for forty years and will continue to do so for years to come.”
Bruce Wintroub, interim dean of the UCSF School of Medicine said, “Michael Peterson is a trusted leader, and I know he will safeguard our mission of recruiting and training physicians and conducting research addressing health issues affecting the community.” UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program 155 N. Fresno St. Fresno, CA 93701 Tel: 559-499-6400 Peterson received both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Minnesota. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin, where he also served one year as a Chief Resident in Medicine. Following the completion of his residency, Dr. Peterson completed a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Iowa where he joined the faculty in 1986. He served as Fellowship Program Director in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Iowa and the Curriculum Director for the Foundations of Clinical Practice IV, the fourth semester curriculum for University of Iowa medical students.
Dr. Peterson sits on a number of boards and was elected to the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators. He has received the UCSF Kaiser Teaching Award, the UCSF Fresno Department of Medicine Faculty Teaching Award, and the UCSF Fresno Faculty Research Award. He has published 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals and attracted several million dollars in research grants and contracts.
