Meet Dr. Federico Vaca, Professor and Executive Vice Chair of UCISOM’s Department of Emergency Medicine

By Joanne Mendoza, UCI School of Medicine

Although it was only in April of 2022 that Dr. Federico Vaca, MD, MPH was recruited from the Yale School of Medicine to serve as the new Executive Vice Chair for the UCI School of Medicine’s Department Emergency, he has an extensive and broad history as an Anteater. He completed his emergency medicine residency here at UCI serving as Chief Resident before completing a fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine at UCSD. Dr. Vaca’s passion for sports medicine led him to serve as an Assistant Team Physician for not only UCI but also as an Assistant Team Physician/Medical Officer for the US Women’s Field Hockey Team. While also working in the emergency department at UCI Medical Center, he founded and directed the long established and successful Emergency Medicine Research Associates Program (EMRAP) for UCI undergraduates. During his first tenure here at UCI, Dr. Vaca also completed a fellowship in Washington, D.C. serving as a Medical Fellow for the US Department of Transportation’s, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. As a result of his earliest research and interest in health disparities, Dr. Vaca was invited by Dr. Alberto Manetta (Founding Director of PrIME-LC) to become intimately involved in assisting in development and oversight of the first few cohorts in PrIME-LC alongside Mr. Jose Rea. Prior to his recruitment to the east coast, Dr. Vaca’s early career efforts greatly contributed to the growth of the UCI School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine and its advancement in research.

Dr. Vaca is a nationally and internationally well-known emergency medicine researcher. His desire to initially pursue research investigation was a direct response to what he witnessed in the emergency medicine when it came to motor vehicle crash-related injuries among small children. His role as an emergency medicine physician challenged him to examine and develop prevention activities and programs that would be meaningful to some of the most vulnerable Orange County communities and throughout the US. Dr. Vaca found inspiration to act upstream of the care he provided in the emergency department by examining the safety knowledge and practice of child safety seat use among infants/toddlers and their families. Early on, his research was an integral part of advocacy by providing data and evidence that could support the enhancement of relevant public health policy focused on saving lives.

In 2009, Dr. Vaca was offered the unique opportunity to further his academic career in emergency medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. Dr. Vaca and his family made the coast-to-coast move, and he continued his NIH funded research expanding his career as an emergency medicine physician-scientist. In 2018, he was ranked the 6th highest NIH funded emergency medicine investigator. Dr. Vaca’s research interests include motor vehicle crash injury epidemiology, injury and alcohol-related health disparities, and socioecological facets among young drivers that influence the risk of crash injury. He and his research team are wholly committed to advancing this important area of prevention that is well known to bolster the safety and health for all of our communities.

Now, after 13 years at Yale, Dr. Vaca has returned to the UCI School of Medicine to help develop, support, and expand research operations for the Department of Emergency. While his focus is to help advance faculty research careers in academic emergency medicine, Dr. Vaca encourages all levels of trainees to pursue their research interests. He is already engaged mentoring undergraduates, medical students, residents, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty here at UCI and across the country. Beyond research, Dr. Vaca is excited to see all the laudable success at UCI and the UCI SOM including the addition of LEAD-ABC. When asked about his role in PrIME-LC now, Dr. Vaca greatly hopes to inspire students, make meaningful connections, and continue to be a resource of PrIME-LC students and the program. We welcome Dr. Vaca back to the Anteater family and PrIME-LC familia and congratulate him on his new role as Executive Vice Chair in the UCI School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency.