Catheryn Yashar, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Hillcrest and La Jolla
Dr. Catheryn M. Yashar is the chief medical officer (CMO) at Hillcrest and La Jolla hospitals at UC San Diego Health. She oversees operations for the Office of the Chief Medical Officer and clinical infrastructure services. This includes hospital medicine, critical care, emergency medicine, palliative care, ethics, and more.
She partners with health system leaders and department chairs in driving clinical excellence in care delivery, with an emphasis on patient outcomes, capacity optimization, patient flow, and the development of data-driven systems that promote a highly reliable learning health system. She is responsible for the hospital medical director infrastructure and serves as a key leader in organizing physician-led efforts to drive operational efficiency across UC San Diego Health.
Dr. Yashar brings a wealth of clinical knowledge and a deep commitment to excellence in patient care, recently serving as UC San Diego Health’s associate CMO for medical staff affairs. She has also chaired the credentials committee and served as the president of the medical staff. In these roles, Dr. Yashar has earned a strong reputation for her dedication to systems improvement.
She actively contributes to developing and training our future health care leaders, nurturing a collaborative environment that promotes research, innovation, and interdisciplinary collaboration. As a professor in the Department of Radiation Medicine and Applied Sciences, Dr. Yashar trains medical students and residents in radiation oncology at UC San Diego School of Medicine. She also serves as the radiation oncology vice chair of clinical affairs and is the breast cancer radiation service line chief.
She actively participates in many medical organizations and societies and speaks at national and international meetings and conferences. Dr. Yashar is on the Board of Trustees for the American Board of Radiology, a past president of the American Brachytherapy Society, and the vice chair of the Uterine and Cervical Cancer Panel for the National Cancer Comprehensive Network. Dr. Yashar’s interest in health policy has led to her service on the board of the American Society of Radiation Oncology and as the CPT advisor and vice chair of the Health Policy Council.
Dr. Yashar completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at the University of Michigan Medical School and trained in a gynecologic oncology fellowship at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where she completed a second residency in radiation oncology. Dr. Yashar earned her medical degree from Northwestern University. She is board-certified in radiation oncology.