ACADEMIC UNIT

Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición of the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California originated from an academic initiative driven by the commitment to educate healthcare professionals capable of addressing the needs of the state. Its establishment was approved by the University Council on September 27, 1971, under the original name of Escuela de Medicina.

The efforts leading to its creation were inspired by a visionary group of high school students from UABC, who, during the final stage of their studies, actively promoted the establishment of a medical school in Baja California. Their initiative required overcoming differing opinions within the local medical community, where both support for and opposition to the project coexisted.

Despite these challenges, the project's promoters successfully secured support at the federal level, obtaining the intervention of the then President of Mexico, Mr. Luis Echeverría Álvarez, whose endorsement proved decisive in bringing the academic initiative to fruition.

Following institutional approval and during the administration of Rector Rafael Soto Gil, academic activities officially began on January 4, 1972, in Classroom "B" of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Mexicali. There, Dr. Heliodoro Osuna delivered the first Anatomy lecture to the inaugural class of 79 students.

Between 1975 and 1976, land was acquired in the Civic Center district of Mexicali, where the campus that continues to house the academic unit was constructed, located on Dr. Humberto Torres Sanginés Street. This milestone marked the beginning of the physical and institutional consolidation of what was then the Escuela de Medicina.

In 1993, with the launch of the Master's Program in Medical Sciences and, later, in 1995, the incorporation of medical residency programs in partnership with the Baja California State Health Services (ISESALUD)—including General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Anesthesiology—the School was granted Faculty status under the name Facultad de Medicina, expanding its mission to include the education of specialized healthcare professionals and the advancement of research in the health sciences.

Over the following years, the portfolio of medical specialty programs continued to expand with Family Medicine (2001-2), Psychiatry (2005-1), Emergency Medicine and Medical-Surgical Emergency Medicine (2010-1), Orthopedics and Traumatology as well as Diagnostic and Therapeutic Imaging (2015-2), and most recently, the Neonatology Subspecialty, approved in the 2023-2 academic term.

In 2018, as a result of collaborative efforts within UABC, the Bachelor's Degree Program in Nutrition began operations at this academic unit, expanding its academic offerings after more than four decades of providing a single undergraduate program. Although the Master's Program in Health Sciences concluded in 2017, it evolved in response to the needs of society, paving the way for new graduate programs. Within this framework, on December 5, 2019, the Master's and Doctoral Programs in Biomedical Sciences were approved, welcoming their first cohort in the 2020-2 academic term. Subsequently, on February 24, 2022, the Master's and Doctoral Programs in Nutrition Sciences were approved, with their first students admitted in the 2023-1 academic term.

In 2024, the Faculty launched the Strategic Plan for the Revision of Medical Specialty Programs, an initiative aimed at updating the specialty curricula that had been in place since 1995.

As part of this process of academic and institutional development, on May 22, 2025, the University Council officially approved the change of name to Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición, recognizing the incorporation of new academic programs and the expansion of its educational mission.

Directors and Terms of Office

The leadership of Facultad de Medicina y Nutrición has, throughout its history, been entrusted to distinguished directors whose vision and dedication have contributed significantly to the consolidation and academic development of the Faculty. The following is a historical record of the Directors and their respective terms of office:

• Dr. Ramón Paz Ramírez
  1971 - 1973


• Dr. Humberto Torres Sanginés
  1973 - 1996 (Term corresponding to the initial consolidation stage of the Escuela de Medicina)


• Dr. Roberto Núñez Aguilar
  1996 - 1997 (Interim Director)


• Dr. Jaime Enrique Hurtado de Mendoza y Batiz
  1997 - 2001


• Dr. Sergio Romo Barraza
  2001 - 2005
  2005 - 2009 (Re-elected)


• Dr. Julia Dolores Estrada Guzmán
  2009 - 2013
  2013 - 2017 (Re-elected)


• Dr. José Manuel Avendaño Reyes
  2017 - 2018 (Acting Director)
  2018 - 2022
  2022 - 2026 (Re-elected)


• Dr. Hiram Javier Jaramillo Ramírez
  2026 - Present