Meet CECORC's Medical Directors and Research Staff

CECORC Staff Bio Page

Contact CECORC 

For additional information, contact us: CECORC@ruhealth.org

Dr. Coimbra

Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD, FACS

CECORC Director

Dr. Raul Coimbra is the Director of the Comparative Effectiveness and Clinical Outcomes Research Center at RUHS Medical Center, and Professor of Surgery at Loma Linda University School of Medicine
Previously, Dr. Coimbra was the Director of the UCSD Level-1 Trauma Center and the Chief of the Division of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, Burns, and Acute Care Surgery for more than two decades.
His participation in global health and international outreach is enormous. Dr. Coimbra is President of the Board of Directors for the World Coalition for Trauma Care, as well as a member of the Global Alliance for the Care of the Injured within the Division of Trauma and Injury Prevention of the World Health Organization.
In addition, Dr. Coimbra is a Past Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Past President of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, Past President of the Panamerican Trauma Society, and Editor Emeritus of the European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery.
Currently, Dr. Coimbra is the Editor-in-Chief of the prestigious Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, a Governor of the American College of Surgeons, and the Chairman of the Emergency General Surgery Verification Program of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Coimbra has more than 730 scientific publications and 18 books on most clinical and experimental aspects of Trauma, Emergency General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care.

Bio and CV

Navpreet Dhillon, MD

Navpreet Dhillon, MD

Director of Surgical Research

Dr. Navpreet Dhillon is a trauma and acute care surgeon at Riverside University Health System Medical Center. She completed her medical education and general surgery training in Southern California and went on to complete a Surgical Critical Care fellowship followed by a Trauma and Acute Care Surgery fellowship at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland. Dr. Dhillon will be assuming the role of the Director of Surgical Research at CECORC.

Dr. Firek

Anthony Firek, MD, MS

Director of Research Medicine

Internal Medicine and Endocrinology and is a member of the clinical staff at RUHS.
He is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the UCR School of Medicine and a faculty member of Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
Dr. Firek has over 30 years of experience in clinical trials and clinical research studies. He is also working as a collaborative scientist in basic science projects in diabetes and thyroid cancer at LLU. He currently serves as both a Principal Investigator and sub Principal Investigator on a number of ongoing research projects.
His interests include developing research skills in associated faculty, residents and students, care for the transgender population, nutrition health disparities, diabetes, endocrine cancers, and metabolic related conditions.

Bio and CV