Board certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases by the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. James McCarty joined Children’s Hospital Central California in July 1984. He is medical director of the pediatric infectious diseases division.

Dr. McCarty is particularly known for his specialized expertise in valley fever, having treated hundreds of children over the past 25 years with this often debilitating and life-threatening condition endemic to the region.

Over the years, Dr. McCarty has worn many hats and earned several awards. Currently a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. McCarty has been a member of the faculty since 1984. Other positions he has held are chief medical officer at Children’s Hospital Central California, and president and chief executive officer of ChildNet Medical Associates, Inc. He also worked as director of immunology at Genentech, a leading biotechnology company in South San Francisco, Calif.

In 2010, Dr. McCarty received the Teacher of the Year Award from the UCSF residency program. In 2007, he received the Children’s Hospital Central California Board of Trustees Meritorious Service Award for Enterprising Programs for his efforts improving patient safety.

Dr. McCarty has published dozens of articles in a variety of peer-review journals, including The Journal of Pediatrics, The New England Journal of Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, and The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. He has participated in hundreds of clinical trials and has presented his work at multiple scientific meetings across the country and around the world.

Dr. McCarty received his medical degree from the University of South Alabama, College of Medicine, in Mobile, Ala. He completed his pediatrics residency at the University of South Alabama Medical Center and Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, Calif. He completed a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, La.

In his free time, Dr. McCarty enjoys spending time with his two grown children and grandchild, snowboarding, and playing the guitar and mandolin.

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