Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H.

Deborah Deas, M.D., M.P.H. is the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, the Mark and Pam Rubin Dean of the School of Medicine, and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, Riverside (UCR).

Dr. Deas is a child/adolescent and addiction psychiatrist who completed her medical doctor degree, residency and fellowship training at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She also completed a National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) research fellowship. She has conducted research in psychosocial and pharmacological treatments of adolescents with substance use disorders. Dr. Deas has received extensive funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as industry-sponsored funding. She is a member of several professional organizations and serves as a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Council of Deans Administrative Board as well as the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).
Under her leadership, the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine has seen tremendous growth in its medical education, biomedical sciences, and clinical enterprise programs, helping it fulfill its mission to improve the availability of healthcare for the people across Inland Southern California.

Since arriving in 2016, Dr. Deas has led efforts to increase the class size of our medical and biomedical sciences programs, expand clinical affiliations, develop and expand the robust UCR Health clinical enterprise, and increase National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding as well as private giving. She has worked with UC leadership and state legislators to secure state funding for a new medical education building as well as an ongoing commitment of annual state funding to support the operational expenses for the school.

What would be your advice to high school students wanting a job in your field?

"I would advise high school students who aspire to become a physician to work hard to excel academically, develop great study habits, seek out mentors or programs for students interested in the STEM fields, volunteer in the medical field, and seek shadowing experiences with physicians. Students may also visit the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) website to obtain information for 'Aspiring Docs'. The information is relevant for students across the continuum."