UCI Dean Is O.C.’s Physician of the Year

Dr. Thomas C. Cesario, dean of the UC Irvine College of Medicine and the first chairman of a county medical AIDS task force, has been named 2001 physician of the year by the Orange County Medical Assn.

Cesario, 60, of Newport Beach was recognized Thursday for his role as both a teacher and longtime administrator at the college, where he has worked for more than 25 years, said Dr. Maria Minon, the association’s president.

“Dr. Cesario represents all of the qualities that encompass leadership,” Minon said. “He is an advocate, educator, motivator and a dedicated physician for his patients.”

Cesario is also an active researcher, with specific interest in interferon. He has studied the disposition and levels of interferon present in the human body and the effects chemotherapy and hormones have on interferon at the molecular level.