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High school senior Genesis Morales thought she knew what she wanted to do with her future, but after completing a special Turner-UCLA Allied Health internship this summer her plans changed direction.

“Previously, I was interested in working in substance abuse because I know people who have dealt with that and it’s a really difficult subject,” said Morales. “But then I came here to do the internship and I realized that I’m more interested in working with children.”

Graduating David Geffen Medical Scholarship recipients Caroline Gross and MacLean Sellars (center), flanked by fellow recipients William Sheppard Jr. and Orly Bell.

After earning a master’s degree in education and working as a public-school teacher in New York, Mariel Bailey decided to pursue a medical degree.

An upset stomach can’t be ignored – go ahead, try it – but that doesn’t mean you should panic either, as those of us who have spent too much time Googling our various aches and pains are wont to do.

"If it lasts for a day or two, it's usually nothing to worry about," said Dr. Eric Esrailian, co-chief of the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases, in a recent interview with Prevention.com.

When the American College of Physicians issued new guidelines for treating lower back pain last month it represented a big shift: instead of recommending prescription medications as the first line of treatment, as it had for years, the new recommendations favored non-invasive treatments such as exercise and heat therapy.

Challenging more than a century of medical tradition, a UCLA doctor is exploring whether antibiotics can be an effective alternative to surgery for treating appendicitis.

Dr. David Talan, an emergency medicine and infectious diseases specialist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is study director of a 1,500-patient, $12-million national clinic trial. It’s the largest randomized clinical trial comparing antibiotics to surgery for treating inflammation of the appendix.

While boxes of decadent chocolates treats, celebratory champagne and romantic high-calorie dinners may dance in your mind as a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day, your heart may be pining for something else. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it is a great time to look at the state of your heart.

To honor the efforts of biomedical scientists, the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is awarding its first annual Switzer Prize this spring. The Switzer Prize recognizes the contributions of an individual biomedical investigator whose basic research has led to breakthroughs in patient care.

It has been a difficult year for the Los Angeles community and the nation as a whole as gun violence continues to disproportionately affect the African American community. To help the community heal and bring about change, the dean’s office at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is hosting a series of open dialogue forums.

As if the hot flashes, night sweats and dry skin caused by menopause weren’t indignity enough, a new UCLA study has found that the change of life also accelerates the body’s biological clock, increasing women’s risk for aging-related diseases and earlier death.

Parents Rafael and Liduvina stand on each side of their five daughters, from left: Maria Sofia, Guadalupe, Luz, Leticia and Karina.

Luz Corona Gomez never forgot what her mother advised her sisters and her 20 years ago, as they crouched in the dust to help their parents pick grapes from the sweltering farm fields of the San Joaquin Valley.

Club foot.  Scoliosis.  Pigeon toes.

The images of impoverished Vietnamese children suffering from these disorders--all easily corrected by surgery in the U.S.--are forever seared in Harry Mai’s brain.

The 26-year-old visited Vietnam dozens of times as a child and possesses a strong connection to its most vulnerable citizens.  He credits his father, Hong, for both.

From the age of 4, Rebecca Lopez had the odds stacked against her.

She survived six years of sexual molestation by her stepfather, parenthood at age 14 and marriage to a violent abuser. But nothing could make her abandon her dream of becoming a doctor.

UCLA neuroscientists artificially stimulated neurons to help the aging brain recapture connections between related memories. Photo credit: Daniel Aharoni/UCLA

It’s no secret that our memory worsens as we grow older. Now a new UCLA study conducted in mice reveals how aging weakens the brain’s ability to link related memories over time.

The David Geffen Medical Scholarships promises a debt-reduced education, drawing a special breed of students to UCLA to create a cadre of physicians with the vision and leadership to alter the future course of medicine.

The David Geffen Medical Scholarship Fund, conceived by Geffen and announced today by Dr. A. Eugene Washington, vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the medical school, ensures that DGSOM will have students who graduate from medical school debt-reduced, allowing them to pursue lifesaving research and patient care without the economic burdens that restrict the choices of many young physicians and scientists.