Diana L. Farmer MD

Diana L. Farmer, an internationally renowned fetal and neonatal surgeon, is chair of the Department of Surgery at UC Davis Health, where she oversees more than 250 faculty, volunteer clinical faculty, post-doctoral fellows, residents, students, and staff who provide highly skilled, specialty services in bariatric, burn, cardiothoracic, gastrointestinal, plastic and reconstructive, oncology, transplant, trauma, and vascular surgery.

A recognized leader in pediatric surgery, Farmer is known for her skilled surgical treatment of congenital anomalies and for her expertise in cancer, airway, and intestinal surgeries in newborns, and her investigations on the safety and effectiveness of providing spina bifida treatments before birth. She is researching a novel stem cell therapy for repairing damaged neural tissue in spina bifida patients. Farmer has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles, including studies of neuroblastoma, Chiari II malformation, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, fetal trauma, and necrotizing enterocolitis. Dr. Farmer is a worldwide innovator in treating complex birth defects and diseases in very young children, said Claire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for human health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC Davis. Her technical insights, expert leadership, and dedication to patients will assure that our surgical team continues to offer compassionate care together with the latest technologies.