About

UCSF Fresno

Today and Yesterday

UCSF Fresno was created in 1975 as a graduate medical education campus of the University of California, San Francisco with support from the state legislature and Veterans Administration to address physician shortages in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Today, UCSF Fresno is the largest academic physician-training program between Sacramento and San Francisco to the north and Los Angeles to the south.

Medical Education

As a regional campus of the top-ranked UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno carries out training and patient care through a network of affiliated partners. Residents, fellows and medical students, including those in the UCSF San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) at UCSF Fresno, experience a wide variety of settings, ranging from rural hospitals and clinics, health agencies and programs, faculty physicians’ offices to remote wilderness settings, to one of California’s busiest emergency departments and the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and burn center at our primary teaching hospital Community Regional Medical Center. Our aim is to train physicians to be exceptional clinicians and patient advocates who can work in multidisciplinary teams, serve multifaceted patient populations and strive to improve health beyond hospital and clinic walls.

UCSF Faculty

It takes world-class faculty to train the next generation of outstanding physicians. Recognized experts are among the senior UCSF faculty at UCSF Fresno.

Exceptional Patient Care

Thanks to the expertise of UCSF faculty physicians at UCSF Fresno, travel outside of the region for exceptional care is unnecessary. Most complex medical cases can be handled effectively right here. Faculty-driven services such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and programs and clinics for cystic fibrosis, liver health and lung nodules provide life-saving treatments and ensure patients with unique and complicated diseases can receive the care they need without traveling long distances.

Improving Health

In line with UCSF’s mission of advancing human health, UCSF Fresno is improving health in the San Joaquin Valley. We are committed to recruiting and retaining the best and brightest physicians to care, heal, teach and discover. In addition to medical education, UCSF Fresno is engaged in medical research and clinical trials specific to San Joaquin Valley health issues, including diabetes, heart failure, lung cancer, and Valley fever to name a few.

Ideal Location

UCSF Fresno is in the fifth-largest city in California. We are at the heart of California between Sacramento and San Francisco to the north and Los Angeles to the south, just a few hours drive to the central Coast, close to Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, and at the center of health care in Central California.

Building a Pathway for Future Physicians

UCSF Fresno gives back to the community through partnerships and service such as through our mobile clinic Mobile Health and Learning (Mobile HeaL). We also prepare students from the Valley for health and medical careers through our Office of Health Career Pathways which oversees programs including San Joaquin Valley-MedBridge, Doctors Academy, Summer Biomedical Internship and Reaching Out to Aspiring Doctors among others.

9

Residency Specialties

20

Fellowship Sub-Specialties

2

Physician Assistant Residencies

300+

Physicians Trained Each Year

625+

Core Faculty and Volunteer Appointments

40%

Retention

152+

Clinical Trials, Studies and Public Service Projects

“I look forward to deepening existing partnerships and forging new ones to strengthen UCSF Fresno’s role as a premier academic medical center and a vital contributor to the region’s health care workforce.”

José M. Barral Sánchez, MD, PhD

Vice Dean

Y. Frank and Roxie Moradian Chair in Medicine

About

Over five decades, the overarching goal of UCSF Fresno has been to improve health in the San Joaquin Valley and Central California by training exceptional physicians, providing the highest quality patient care, leading research discoveries that better the lives of people in the Valley, and cultivating partnerships that enhance medical care in the community and prepare future health care leaders.

As a regional campus of the UCSF School of Medicine, UCSF Fresno carries out its training and patient care through a network of affiliated partners including Community Health System, VA Fresno, Inspire Health Medical Group, United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley and many other clinical sites.

Founded in 1975 with support from the California legislature and Veterans Administration, UCSF Fresno was created to address the physician shortage in the San Joaquin Valley and help meet the region’s health care needs.

UCSF Fresno has grown significantly over the decades. Today, we are the San Joaquin Valley’s largest academic physician-training program, and leading contributor to the regional physician workforce.

Leadership

José M. Barral Sánchez, MD, PhD, was named Vice Dean of the UCSF School of Medicine Regional Campus at Fresno on Feb. 18, 2025, and assumed the role on May 1, 2025. As UCSF Fresno Vice Dean, Barral Sánchez oversees medical education, faculty and staff development, research growth, and the expanding partnership with UC Merced. He also serves on the UCSF School of Medicine Dean’s Council, reporting directly to Dean Talmadge E. King, Jr., MD.

This newly established role supports UCSF Fresno’s expansion as a regional campus and coincides with its 50th anniversary.

In addition to the Vice Dean, regional campus leadership at Fresno includes Assistant Deans for Graduate Medical Education, Undergraduate Medical Education, Academic Affairs, Research and a Chief Administrative Officer.