Dr. David Hoyt, a trauma surgeon who helped build one of the nation's strongest trauma care systems, has been appointed the John E. Connolly, M.D. Chair of Surgery at University of California, Irvine Medical Center and School of Medicine.

Hoyt joins UCI from UC San Diego, where he was the Monroe E. Trout Professor of Surgery and vice chair of the Department of Surgery. His appointment begins July 1, 2006.

At UCI, Hoyt will oversee all surgical services and training provided through the Department of Surgery, which encompasses 10 surgical divisions and the highly acclaimed UCI Regional Burn Center and Beckman Laser Institute.

"David Hoyt is a gifted surgeon, prodigious scientist and leader with energy and vision," said Chancellor Michael V. Drake. "He will be a great addition to our medical center and play a key role in advancing the Department of Surgery and improving patient care."

As chief of the Division of Trauma, Burns and Surgical Critical Care at UCSD Medical Center, Hoyt has worked with national and governmental organizations to develop and improve regional trauma services. As a charter member of San Diego County's trauma system, he and his colleagues partnered with the county to build one of the strongest trauma care systems in the United States.

He is a member of many prestigious surgical organizations and is the past president of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Society of General Surgeons of San Diego, the Shock Society, past chairman of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, and is the past medical director of trauma at the American College of Surgeons.

Hoyt was also a clinical leader at UCSD, serving as chairman of the UCSD Medical Group Board of Governors. He was selected UCSD's Faculty Physician of the Year in 1997 and received the Chancellor's Associates Faculty Award for Outstanding Community Service in 1995.

As a teacher, Hoyt has trained medical students and residents in general surgery and is president of the Pan American Trauma Association, which organizes trauma care education and research in the Western Hemisphere. As a researcher, he continues to engage in NIH-funded research activities, focusing on finding more effective ways to suppress potentially threatening immune responses in the body after injury and resuscitating patients following injury. He is also vice chairman of the NHLBI Resuscitation Consortium, a network of 10 NIH-funded centers.

In other efforts, he works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to analyze car-crash scenes and subsequent injuries to aid in the development of safer automobiles. He is author of over 370 research articles and book chapters.

"UCI's Department of Surgery has tremendous people and strengths," Hoyt said. "My goal is to encourage greater collaboration among faculty and further expand and elevate the department's reputation in the areas of patient care, education and research."

Hoyt, 56, received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He joined the faculty at UCSD in 1984. Hoyt succeeds Dr. Michael Stamos, who has served as interim chairman since January 2005.

About UCI Medical Center: UCI Medical Center is the only university hospital in Orange County, offering acute- and general-care service. It has the county's only Level I trauma center, American College of Surgeons-verified regional burn center and National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Included in its University Children's Hospital is the county's most sophisticated neonatal unit, caring for more than 500 premature and at-risk infants a year. UCI also is the only hospital in Orange County recognized in U.S. News & World Report's annual listing of "America's Best Hospitals" and first to receive Magnet Designation for nursing excellence.

About the University of California, Irvine: The University of California, Irvine is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Founded in 1965, UCI is among the fastest-growing University of California campuses, with more than 24,000 undergraduate and graduate students and about 1,400 faculty members. The second-largest employer in dynamic Orange County, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $3.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.

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