Golden State Today

Diana Farmer, a pioneering fetal surgeon, has been at the forefront of treating birth defects both inside and outside the womb. Her career began with groundbreaking achievements in fetal surgery, becoming the first woman to perform open fetal surgery in the late 1990s. "You know, we didn’t know in the beginning whether we could even do it," she reflected on her early experiences.

Fetal surgery has significantly evolved over nearly four decades. Initially reserved for fatal birth defects, advancements have made procedures safer with better outcomes for mothers and babies. Farmer was drawn to this field by its potential to change lives from their very beginnings. "The idea of being able to impact a disease at the very beginning, and change not just a life but a lifetime, was just the most exciting place to be," she stated.

Farmer's educational background includes a bachelor's degree in molecular biology from Wellesley College and medical training at institutions such as the University of Washington and UC San Francisco. In 2011, she joined UC Davis Health as surgeon-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital and chair of the Department of Surgery. She also holds roles as a distinguished professor at UC Davis School of Medicine and Pearl Stamps Stewart Endowed Chair.

Her leadership extended into prestigious circles when she was named to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in 2011 and later appointed to its membership committee in 2023. As vice chair of Section 6 within NAM, which covers surgery-related fields, Farmer is recognized for her contributions to health and medicine—a role she describes as "a tremendous responsibility."

Farmer's work combines surgical expertise with translational research aimed at developing treatments for birth defects using stem cells. Her focus on spina bifida led her team through years of experimentation before launching the CuRe Trial—the first clinical trial using stem cells for prenatal treatment of spina bifida.

The CuRe Trial stems from decades-long efforts including Farmer's principal investigator role on the $22 million Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), which demonstrated that prenatal surgery improves outcomes for children with spina bifida. "It immediately changed the standard of care," said Farmer about MOMS' impact.

Launched in spring 2021 with funding from California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Shriners Children’s, CuRe Trial performed its first procedure on July 12, 2021. The trial monitors patient safety while assessing developmental milestones like walking ability—early results are promising though conclusive answers will take time.

Collaboration across UC Davis has been vital according to Farmer who credits partnerships within their veterinary school during early stages studying spina bifida models: “It has really been a spectacular enriching part...to advance human health." She emphasized UC Davis’ unique position having both vet/agriculture schools fostering rich scientific opportunities alongside One Health Institute initiatives linking animals/people/plants/environment interactions: “This is just such a rich place..."

Looking ahead optimistically towards future potentials offered by regenerative medicine beyond current successes seen so far; Farmer envisions broader applications tackling genetic diseases/chronic conditions alike predicting significant advances forthcoming through cell/gene therapies saying simply: “The future is going be cell/gene therapy.”