A Vision for Innovation and Community Impact

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The University of California San Diego School of Medicine is pleased to welcome Catherine L. Coe, M.D., as the new chair of the Department of Family Medicine, effective January 5, 2026.

“Dr. Coe’s appointment as the chair for the Department of Family Medicine marks an exciting new chapter for the department,” said Barbara Jung, M.D., associate vice chancellor and dean of UC San Diego School of Medicine. “She brings an extraordinary blend of scholarly excellence, clinical insight and collaborative spirit. Her leadership will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the Department of Family Medicine and fostering excellence in research and discovery, education, clinical care, community outreach and service.”

Coe is a passionate advocate for academic family medicine. She relocated to San Diego from the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine where she most recently served as the assistant dean for clinical curriculum, associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine and associate medical director of the University Employee Occupational Health Clinic.

Coe earned her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Washington, followed by a family medicine residency at UNC Chapel Hill. After an additional year as chief resident, she joined the UNC Department of Family Medicine as an assistant professor. Her career path at UNC highlighted consistent professional growth, advancing through the ranks, while taking on increasing leadership responsibilities that blended her clinical expertise and a strong commitment to improving medical education, most recently leading a clinical curricular redesign for third and fourth-year medical students at UNC.

“I am a family doctor and that is the heart of everything that I do,” said Coe. “Family physicians are often the first point of care for patients, which makes it essential that we have a strong workforce, well-distributed across both urban and rural spaces to serve the needs of all communities. Throughout my career, my focus has been on ensuring that we have well-trained family physicians to serve the needs of all patients. It has become my personal mission.”

A nationally recognized leader in curriculum design and advocacy for innovative pathways to practice, Coe developed an accelerated Doctor of Medicine program at UNC called the Fully Integrated Readiness for Service Training (FIRST) Program. FIRST students complete their medical school degree in three years with a direct pathway into a UNC-affiliated residency program, followed by three years of service in a rural or underserved area of North Carolina. She also secured a $1.8 million grant from the American Medical Association to expand the program and address critical gaps in physician workforce development. Nationally, there are more than 30 institutions that offer accelerated medical school pathways.

Coe’s research and educational initiatives are closely aligned, integrating innovative curriculum design with evidence-based approaches to enhance the training and well-being of medical students. Her work aims to shape a physician workforce ready to meet the evolving needs of patients and communities. With a special interest in competency-based medical education (CBME) and the full continuum of medical education, she led the implementation of CBME across multiple training sites, establishing standardized frameworks and best practices that enhance both education and patient care.

“I secretly believe that many students who enter medical school are family doctors at heart,” said Coe. “I want to explore how we continue to support and nurture that inclination so that more students choose family medicine.”

While Coe’s research focus is medical education and curriculum design, she is eager to build a research infrastructure within the Department of Family Medicine that empowers all faculty to engage in scholarly work. She emphasized the importance of encouraging faculty to pursue the research and creative endeavors that align with their interest and brings them joy.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more prevalent in health care, Coe is also eager to play an active role in incorporating AI into clinical practice, research, and education.

“UC San Diego Health has an amazing AI learning community,” she said. “I think there are many opportunities to improve patient, physician and staff satisfaction with AI. How can we use these AI tools to improve access and ease of scheduling for patients? How can we decrease the inbox burden that physicians face? There is so much opportunity for improvement across the board.”

Coe is an active member of several national organizations, recently concluding two terms on the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Board of Directors, the American Medical Association’s Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium, and Consortium of Accelerated Medical Pathway Programs.

“What I love about academia is that it feels like a team sport, and that's how I approach my leadership style,” said Coe. “There's often immense pressure to excel individually, but meaningful, large-scale initiatives require us to leverage the skills and talents of everyone on the team. That collaborative mindset is central to my approach.”

Looking to the future, Coe envisions a transformative era for the Department of Family Medicine. Grounded in community-connected research, innovative clinical care and a dynamic, inclusive approach to education, her vision is to redefine what it means to train, serve and lead in family medicine.

“If we do these things, we will not only be a top-tier academic family medicine department, but a catalyst for reshaping primary care—attracting visionary talent, partnering with communities and driving systemic change. Through curiosity and shared purpose, we will set a new standard for what academic family medicine can and should be,” she said.