UCLA's Competitive Research Training Grant Programs
What are Training Grants?
Training Grants are funds awarded to an institution to train a cohort of researchers in a targeted research disciplinary area. Interdisciplinary faculty working in the field are identified as research mentors and predoctoral and/or postdoctoral trainees apply to be funded through the program and participate in its training activities. Most of these programs are federally sponsored and are restricted to US citizens and permanent residents, however, trainees ineligible for funding can join the training cohort and participate in the training activities.
To report a needed update or change in program type, information, or content please contact Ana Batista, Data Analyst, Graduate Programs in Bioscience.
Active Training Programs in the Biomedical and Life Sciences
All Programs
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Psychology
Director(s): Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Name: Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Email: dunkel@psych.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8816
A number of strengths in our program make it a unique and exciting place for graduate or postdoctoral study. Opportunities for training in biopsychosocial bases of health and illness are broad, well developed, and still growing. Our faculty has established programs of research on the reciprocal links between psychological and physical health and disease which provide superb venues for research experience. The faculty is composed of scholars with expertise in psychoneuroimmunology; stress, coping, and social support processes; health behavior and behavior change; social neuroscience; and ethnic, racial, and sociocultural aspects of health with a range of theoretical and methodological approaches brought to bear on these central themes (e.g., family, individual, community perspectives; experimental, intervention, daily diary, and survey research). In addition, our program offers research opportunities in cancer, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease, as well as healthy populations. Research programs on depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disease, and schizophrenia by affiliated faculty offer further venues for our students to study comorbidities and integrate mind and body approaches in their research. Finally, our faculty have extensive ongoing interdisciplinary research collaborations in psychiatry, public health, social science, life science, medical science, and nursing for student involvement.
Code: T15
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Alex Bui
Contact Name: Isabel Rippy
Contact Email: irippy@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The Institute for Precision Health and the Department of Computational Medicine offer a Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training program in Biomedical Data Science and Precision Health with support from the National Library of Medicine. The co-directors are Bogdan Pasaniuc and Alex Bui.
The program combines didactic training in computational and statistical methods for large-scale analyses involving biomedical data (e.g., multi-omics; electronic health records, EHRs). Trainees will acquire breadth in biomedical informatics and data science, as well as targeted learning in specific topics around equity, bioethics, and precision health. All trainees will have a mentorship team that co-supervises them through a research experience in precision health. We approach the training through the unifying lens of precision health. Trainees choose from four areas:
Healthcare/clinical informatics
Translational bioinformatics
Clinical research informatics
Public health informatics
Trainees will choose a faculty mentor from over 30 participating professors that represent 14 primary home departments from the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science.
Code: Other
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): Beate Ritz & Tom Drake
Contact Name: Irish del Rosario
Contact Email: IdelRosario@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-7458
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund Inter-school Training Program in Chronic Diseases (BWF-CHIP), directed by Dr. Beate Ritz (Epidemiology) and Dr. Thomas Drake (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine), provides training in laboratory and population sciences to integrate research along the entire continuum from molecules to populations. Chronic diseases are the number one epidemic of our time in Western Nations and are gaining importance in low resource countries. The etiologic complexity of chronic diseases requires a multidisciplinary approach that goes beyond simply translating epidemiologic, basic science, and genetic discoveries into clinical and public health practice.
With a team of outstanding UCLA researchers and educators at the cutting edge of their research, the program harnesses major advances in biomedical, genetic, and population sciences and focuses on the integration of these approaches. By providing foundational training and research experience in basic, clinical, and population-based approaches, trainees are being prepared to integrate population-based quantitative sciences with laboratory-based biological sciences to effectively lead cross-disciplinary studies of the future.
The BWF-CHIP Training Program is open to all UCLA graduate students (PhD, MD) who seek to apply advanced genomic, molecular, population-based, and quantitative methods to the study of disease distribution in human populations. Acceptance into this program will provide trainees in this area of research with the foundational quantitative and laboratory knowledge to enable important interdisciplinary research in chronic diseases. This program provides up to two years of support for UCLA fees and tuition, in addition to stipend support at a rate comparable to those set by NIH or NSF.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: California Center for Population Research
Director(s): Jennie E. Brand
Contact Name: Steve Johnson
Contact Email: Steven@ccpr.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-267-4342
CCPR is the primary center for research and training in demography and population at UCLA. CCPR faculty are concentrated in Sociology, Economics, and Community Health Sciences, the three primary disciplines in which population scientists are trained in the U.S., as well as in related fields, e.g., geography, and public policy. The recent hiring of population scientists has increased the number of CCPR affiliates and attracted increased numbers of students interested in demographic and population studies. Accordingly, funding is requested for 6 predoctoral traineeships per year, an increase of 2 over our training grant award in 2001 and the renewal in 2006 and 2011. The training program that we seek to renew and expand plays a central role in CCPR-coordinated training at UCLA. It builds on strong graduate programs in sociology, economics, and public health; a distinguished multi-disciplinary faculty with a diverse portfolio of research that spans economic, social, and health demography and reflects the NICHD/PDB mission; and abundant resources for population research at UCLA.
We seek to train the next generation of population scientists to carry out theoretically informed, methodologically sophisticated research on topics of contemporary relevance that relate to population studies. We have built an innovative curriculum in each of the three core departments, Sociology, Economics, and Community Health Sciences (CHS), and integrated interdisciplinary training in population science into their programs. For the renewal, we retain the existing features of the successful program, including a training seminar with presentations by invited speakers, trainee proseminar, mentorship, and cross-disciplinary coursework. Since the previous renewal, we added the trainee proseminar at which current and past trainees meet with invited faculty guests and discuss the speaker's research and research trajectory. We also added the requirement that all trainees complete at least one course in demography from an approved list of courses. We will also add the requirement that all trainees complete at least one advanced methods course. The program has a remarkable record of success in producing independent investigators who carry out cutting-edge research on social, economic, and public health topics that reflect the NICHD mission. Of the 29 trainees who have completed their PhD since 2005, 11 are now assistant or associate professors at major universities, 9 hold research-intensive positions, 4 are postdoctoral researchers at major universities, and 4 hold appointments as lecturers (with 1 currently on the market). Thus, most trainees secure tenure-track faculty or other research-intensive positions, often preceded by prestigious postdoctoral fellowships.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - VA Wadsworth Med CTR
Director(s): Tzung Hsiai, Dino Di Carlo, Azita Emami, Yu-Chong Tai
Contact Name:
Contact Email:
Contact Phone:
Description
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have partnered to integrate advanced imaging and sensing coupled with computing needed to translate technological innovation to address the global cardiometabolic disease. The UCLA/Caltech integrated Theranostic Engineering to Advance Metabolic Medicine (iTEAM) Program represents a new paradigm that will be formalized into a 2-year, structured curriculum with an emphasis on recruiting the under-represented post-doctoral engineers or physical scientists into leadership roles in academia and industry. The convergence of the fundamental strengths of Caltech and clinical strengths of UCLA is conducive to individualize training in 1) advanced sensing or 2) imaging coupled with computing to address 3) cardiometabolic disease. The iTEAM program is partnering with industry leaders (Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Edwards Lifesciences) for internship, mentorship, and leadership programs. Both the Caltech Diversity Center and UCLA Faculty Diversity & Development Office have supported workshops on Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) for women and underrepresented minorities. To implement this UCLA/Caltech iTEAM program, we have developed a mentoring and self-evaluating structure in the inclusion of 21 primary and co-mentors, 13 consulting mentors, and 10 industry leaders (42% female). Each iTEAM scholar will have co-mentorships: a primary mentor from enabling technologies and a secondary from cardiometabolic medicine and/or industry. In Year 1, iTEAM scholars will: 1) Participate in an initial two- day workshop including mentors, program leaders, clinicians, physician-scientists, and industry leaders to explore projects, expectations, mentorship, and goals; 2) Meet one-to-one with the Program Director(s) to finalize a primary (imaging or sensing) and a co-mentor (cardiometabolic disease or industry); 3) Develop an Individualized Development Plans (IDP) with the Advising & Training Committee to finalize the project; and 4) Strengthen fundamental knowledge in advanced imaging, sensors, or computation and didactic training for ethics in biomedical research and publications. In Year 2, iTEAM scholars will be afforded 1) the opportunity to present work-in-progress and provide feedback in quarterly meetings with a primary mentor and with a co- mentor, 2) an option to participate in a certificate in Pathways in Clinical and Translational Research from the UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI) or Law and Technology for FDA regulatory science (BE188/299); and/or 3) to participate in UCLA CTSI-sponsored professional development in preparation for an academic or industry career. Both Caltech and UCLA Deans have committed matching funds for each iTEAM scholar. UCLA Vice Provost for Graduate Education and has also committed supplemental trainee support to enhance the diversity of trainees. Overall, this program infuses the scientific workforce with the next generation of theranostic bioengineers prepared to solve the worldwide threat of cardiometabolic disease.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): Zuofeng Zhang
Contact Name: Cathy Lang
Contact Email: clang@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8501
The objective of the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program is to continue to implement an innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research training program in molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology for five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees.
The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has been training pre-and postdoctoral candidates in cancer epidemiology since 1975. From the beginning, the objective of the program has been to provide trainees with rigorous coursework and applied research experiences in cancer epidemiology, integrating epidemiology, statistics, and biology. Since 1999, the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has emphasized Pre, Post epidemiologic methodology and the molecular and genetic epidemiology of cancer. The Program is directed by Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, and co-directed by Dr. Roger Detels.
The Specific Aim of the program is to train up to five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees at any given year during the program cycle in an interdisciplinary program of cancer molecular genetic epidemiologic research leading to the M.S. (postdoctoral program only) and Ph.D. degrees in epidemiology. Postdoctoral trainees with prior doctoral training in epidemiology will develop and complete research projects under the mentorship of one of the key program faculty. The rationale of this training program is to provide the best possible training in epidemiologic methodology, which will prepare students for carrying out research on a wide range of health issues. Predoctoral trainees are to complete all courses required in epidemiology methodology, as well as additional courses in the application of epidemiology in cancer research, including cancer epidemiology, behavioral epidemiology, genetic modeling, the molecular basis of cancer, and molecular epidemiology. The program provides an opportunity for students to learn genetic and molecular aspects of cancer and to apply their methodological skills in investigating problems related to cancer etiology, intervention, and control. Ultimately, the training program will yield a core of strong methodologists with expertise in genetic and molecular cancer epidemiology.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - Cardiology
Director(s): Karol Watson MD, PhD
Contact Name: Owen Hayley
Contact Email: HOwen@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-0258
The Divisions of Cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and West LA VA Medical Center are pleased to offer fellowship training in cardiology. Successful applicants will receive comprehensive training in clinical cardiology at one of the Nation's premier Medical Centers and Schools of Medicine. There are two training tracks offered, both of which offer exemplary clinical training in the practice of cardiovascular medicine.
The Clinical Training track offers comprehensive clinical training in cardiovascular medicine over 2 years with one additional year of clinical research. Additional sub-specialty in Interventional Cardiology, Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation, and Adult Congenital Heart Disease is also available on a selective basis.
The second track known as the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) track offers trainees the same comprehensive clinical training over 2 years with additional intensive research training in an innovative career track. This STAR program is intended for physicians committed to academic careers. The UCLA Department of Medicine offers Ph.D. training combined with fellowship training as part of the research training. STAR Awardees complete clinical training toward board certification in cardiology as well as research training to complete a masters, PhD or a postdoctoral fellowship under the guidance of a faculty advisory panel representing the awardee's clinical and research interests. The Ph.D. is completed over a three to four-year period for a total of five to six-year training period. A master of clinical research is completed over a two to three-year period for a total of four to five year training period. Additional sub-specialty training is also available on a selective basis.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department:
Director(s): Patrick G. Harran
Contact Name: Christina Ungermann
Contact Email:
Contact Phone: 530-574-8539
Description
The Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) Predoctoral Research Training Program at UCLA is an NIH-funded program designed to provide research training to predoctoral students in chemical approaches to the solution of biological problems. Students selected to participate are trained in the language and techniques of biological and chemical sciences, and gain experience in solving complex issues in the realms of chemistry, pharmacology, and the medical sciences. The training grant encourages collaboration between its members, providing a unique opportunity for students to work on multidisciplinary teams at the interface of chemistry and biology.
Previous fellows have gone on to hold prestigious appointments at UCLA, other universities, and in the private sector. Students in the training program are required to complete an internship in the course of their studies, and CBI places a major emphasis on fostering connections between its training grant members and the pharmaceutical industry. At the program's annual CBI Day, trainees present research to an audience of faculty, industry reps, and alumni. This event is a culmination of the program's focus on professional development, and features industry and university speakers. It provides a unique opportunity for students to make connections with alumni and professional contacts.
The mission of the UCLA Chemistry-Biology Interface training grant is to provide rigorous research training, professional development, and mentoring to a diverse group of predoctoral students in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment. The grant has been housed within the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UCLA since 1996.
Code: TL1
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Moira Inkelas (TL1 Translational Science Fellowship) and William Cunningham (TL1 Summer Fellowship)
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Fellowship is awarded to incoming pre-doctoral students in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA School of Public Health. Fellows receive mentored training to ensure the translational nature of their dissertation projects. The goal of the fellowship is to provide pre-doctoral fellows with the investigative skills to create new knowledge about health services.
UCLA CTSI TL1 Summer Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Summer Fellowship is for health professional students (medical, nursing and dental) during their training. The program will provide each individual with early exposure to the practice of interdisciplinary, community-partnered translational or health services research in urban underserved communities. Each student in the program will attend a weekly seminar (for 8 weeks) where they will hear about topics such as introduction to health disparities research, access to care, quality of care, community-partnered research methods, ethics of conducting community-oriented research, study design, measurement of outcomes in communities, introduction to comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses. Each student in this program will be paired with a faculty mentor who conducts either clinical or community-partnered or health services research and will be expected to work on a project with the mentor. Findings from this work will be presented in a CTSI-sponsored poster session and possibly co-authorship for the student in a peer-reviewed publication resulting from the project. Mentorship activities will provide the trainee with first-hand experience working on disparities-related research projects.
Code: TL1
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Moira Inkelas (HPM), Alex Bui & Douglas Bell (Clinical Informatics)
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
UCLA CTSI offers two post-doctoral programs, the Clinical Informatics Fellowship and the Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship.
UCLA CTSI Clinical Informatics Fellowship
Launch your career in the new subspecialty of clinical informatics, focusing on health information technology within health care delivery systems. Open to physicians who are board-certified or board-eligible in any specialty.
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Health are seeking outstanding applicants for a two-year fellowship in Clinical Informatics (CI) at the University of California, Los Angeles. The program is open to graduates of residency programs in any specialty.
UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship is awarded to physicians and nurses who are pursuing training in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Fellows receive mentored training to ensure the translational nature of their dissertation projects. The goal of the fellowship is to provide postdoctoral fellows with the investigative skills to create new knowledge about health services.
TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellows receive an annual stipend commensurate with their NRSA PGY level, as well as funding for tuition/fees and training-related travel. The fellowships are renewable for up to two years in 12-month increments, contingent on satisfactory degree progress.
Code: KL2
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Mitchell Wong
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
The KL2 Award Program develops leaders in clinical research. Scholars are trained to design and oversee research in multidisciplinary team settings, skills critical to a successful career in translational science, and the overall mission of the NIH.
Candidates are junior faculty, including clinical instructors and assistant professors, from CTSI partner institutions (i.e., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles Biomedical Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and UCLA). They must possess doctoral-level research or professional degree and the potential to lead multidisciplinary teams. Scholars receive up to five years of support for mentored, multidisciplinary, patient-oriented research and training.
In the first phase of training, scholars learn how to design and conduct clinical research studies as part of a team of scientists encompassing several disciplines. During the second phase of their training, scholars design and conduct clinical research projects under the guidance of mentors who have extensive experience in conducting clinical research. This training grant is unique, as all team members, including nurses, pharmacologists, biostatisticians, and epidemiologists, learn together.
The award is designed to meet an important goal of UCLA CTSI: To provide the next generation of scientists with the training they need to conduct interdisciplinary research that impacts human health.
Code: T90/R90
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Dentistry
Director(s): Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Name: Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Email: htonthat@mednet.ucla.edu; dwong@dentistry.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-267-5910; 310- 206-3048
The UCLA T90 training program provides comprehensive research training opportunities and career development plans encompassing 5 training tracks for DDS/PhD, Dentist-PhD, Dentist Postdoctoral, Predoctoral PhD, and Post-PhD Research. In addition, the R90 component offers research training to non-citizen dentist-scientists. Four areas of research emphasis include: (1) Cancer Biology, Oral Cancer & Stem Cells, (2) Craniofacial Biology, Bioengineering & Regenerative Medicine, (3) Microbes – Virulence Mechanism & Advanced Imaging by Cryo-electron Microscopy, and (4) Translational Genetics, Epigenetics, & Genomics..
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Health Services
Director(s): Thomas Rice
Contact Name: Yayoi Roth
Contact Email: ysroth@ph.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-983-1355
The Los Angeles Area Health Services Research Training Program (LAAHSRTP) postdoctoral fellowship is a joint initiative of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, RAND Health, The USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and the V.A. Los Angeles Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy. It is supported by a T-32 grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The program provides comprehensive training and experience to highly-qualified postdoctoral trainees so that they may effectively engage in and lead research and implementation activities aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of the U.S. health care system.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Alex Bui
Contact Name: Isabel Rippy
Contact Email: irippy@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-3534
This T32 is focused on supporting graduate students pursuing medical and imaging informatics research at UCLA. With the now ubiquitous usage of imaging as an in vivo method for objectively documenting and elucidating disease and the human condition, novel research challenges arise in the acquisition, understanding, and usage of imaging and related (clinical) data in realizing new knowledge and improved health outcomes. This training program supports doctoral students from a variety of departments, including Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Studies.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Deans Office School of Medicine
Director(s):Olujimi Ajijola & David Dawson
Contact Name: Azucena Esquivel
Contact Email: aesquivel@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-1817
Welcome to the UCLA-Caltech MSTP website! Having recently celebrated our 30th year as an NIH-funded MSTP, we are proud to direct a program with a history of training outstanding physician-scientists. We believe that the clinical and research enterprises at our institution are ideal for combined MD-PhD training. Since its opening in 1955, the UCLA Medical Center (now the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center) has been committed to the bench-to-bedside research and has fostered a pervasive culture of collaborative, interdisciplinary science. This is reflected in the architecture of the campus, with the Hospital, Medical Center, and Health Sciences complex all within walking distance of the College of Letters and Sciences, School of Engineering, and nine other professional schools on a single, beautiful campus in West Los Angeles. The breadth and excellence of research at both UCLA and Caltech allow us to offer rigorous training in a wide array of disciplines relevant to improving human health and medicine, ranging from basic sciences to engineering to social sciences and health policy.
We recruit and support students who display a passion for scientific knowledge and a life-long commitment to research and leadership. We are additionally committed to the recruitment and training of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic groups that are under-represented in the sciences, and students with disabilities. Our students complete their medical training at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and their PhD in one of many graduate training programs at the university. Each year, two students pursue their graduate training at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where they can draw from the strengths of its dynamic faculty and research community
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
Director(s): Dr. Mansoureh Eghbali & Dr. Maxime Cannesson
Contact Name: Dr. Mansoureh Eghbali
Contact Email: meghbali@mednet.ucla.edu; meghbali@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-0345
The main goal of our T32 training program is to provide training and mentoring to anesthesiology residents/fellows/junior faculty early in their careers in basic, translational, and preclinical research in the department. Our T32 research training program has four main research themes: 1) Perioperative Organ Protection, 2) Cardiovascular, 3) Neurosciences and Brain Health, and 4) Biocomputing/Bioengineering and Health Informatics. The department has strong leaders in each of these fields. We have recruited 27 exceptional faculty mentors (13 PhD scientists and 14 physician-scientists) from the Department of Anesthesiology and other departments across UCLA, including the Departments of Medicine, Bioehttps://cmb.mbi.ucla.edu/ngineering, Physiology, Surgery, Pathology, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Computer Science, and Human Genetics. Our faculty have expertise in a wide range of research areas broadly related to the anesthesiology specialty. Eleven of these faculty are from the Department of Anesthesiology.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
Director(s): Patricia Johnson
Contact Name: Patricia J. Johnson
Contact Email: johnsonp@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-4870
The UCLA Microbial Pathogenesis Training Grant provides the foundation for an integrated research training program in biochemistry, cell biology & genetics of microbial pathogens and host-pathogen interactions. The program's goal is to train scientists to conduct research in microbial pathogenesis using molecular, cellular, genetic, immunological, genomic and post-genomic approaches. Our training faculty includes 23 preceptors with a broad range of related research interests in the areas of bacteriology, parasitology, virology, and immunology. Faculty preceptors have excellent publication, funding and training records. The program, first funded in 1988 was continually funded for 25 years until 2013. The program is small, with six predoctoral and two postdoctoral funded positions; yet it plays a vital role, not limited to trainees, in educating PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of microbial pathogenesis at UCLA. Most of our predoctoral trainees are recruited through the Biosciences Program (BSP) which will provide an excellent pool of ~45 - 55 predoctoral students yearly. In recent years >30% of entering PhD students express interests in microbiology, immunology and host:pathogen interactions.
Our faculty are also highly successful in attracting qualified postdoctoral fellows, having >10 postdoctoral fellows eligible for support in any given year. Trainees are selected for funding on a competitive basis, after a thorough review of their academic and research accomplishments. Progress is reviewed at least twice a year and appointments are renewed yearly with a maximum of three years of support for predoctoral trainees and two years for postdoctoral trainees. The training program requires the completion of coursework focused on microbial pathogenesis, annual presentations of trainee research in symposia attended by all trainees and training preceptors, and participation in a Microbial Pathogenesis seminar series composed of external, preeminent scientists in the field & associated literature discussions.
Trainees also participate in a journal club focused on host:pathogen interactions and newly emerging infectious agents. These journal clubs are jointly facilitated by training preceptors and trainees and serve to broaden trainee education. Participation in a course devoted to ethics and accountability in biomedical research and [a scientific writing course] is also required. [All trainees will be required to develop career objectives guided by "My Individual Development Plan (IDP)".] [Postdoctoral trainees are also required to participate in the PhD Career Training Series and research-related career-focused workshops. Career counseling by the program director and training grant advisory committee is also emphasized.] Annual research presentations at national meetings and UCLA scientific retreats are expected. The focal point of our training program is excellence in research. Several mechanisms are in place to monitor and facilitate trainee progress in research and career development. Our past training efforts have been successful and continued success is anticipated following the plan described in this proposal.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Integrative Biology & Physiology
Director(s): Rachelle Crosbie-Watson & Carrie Miceli
Contact Name: Rachelle Crosbie-Watson
Contact Email: rcrosbie@physci.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-2103
Muscle cell biology is an area of exciting growth in translational medicine. Muscular dystrophies are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. Translational research in muscular dystrophies is expanding, as academic and industry partnerships yield new potential treatments that are currently being assessed in clinics around the world.
The goal of the Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is to capitalize on the momentum that arose from this explosion of translational research. The training program will capitalize on and bridge the talents of muscle cell biologists and translational experts to provide trainees with a broad education based in basic science and exposure to many aspects of disease-related research. The Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is designed to train the best possible young scientists to lead the muscle biology community in the next phase of discovery and translational muscle science. Trainees conduct research projects under the supervision of primary mentors and participate in the CDMD training activities, including biweekly data meetings, journal clubs, and the annual CDMD scientific retreat.
We encourage the recruitment, retention, and training of scholars who are members of underrepresented groups and diverse specialties and with disabilities. Program co- Directors, Rachelle Crosbie-Watson, Ph.D. and M. Carrie Miceli, Ph.D., can address further questions about the program and applicant qualifications.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Urology
Director(s): Dr. Mark S. Litwin and Dr. Deborah Krakow
Contact Name: Sarah Connor
Contact Email: PCORT@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-2513
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Michael McNitt-Gray
Contact Name: Reth Im
Contact Email: rtim@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-7811
Physics and Biology in Medicine Research Training is an interdisciplinary graduate program in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Faculty and students in the program are involved in Biomedical Research in Radiological Imaging and Therapy that operates at the intersection of traditional disciplines. In addition, it requires interdisciplinary teams of scientists with backgrounds in:
- Biology or its subspecialties (e.g. molecular biology, etc.)
- Chemistry or its subspecialties (e.g. biochemistry, etc.)
- Physics or its subspecialties (e.g. medical physics, biophysics, etc.)
- Mathematics or its subspecialties (e.g. computational methods, simulation, etc.)
- Engineering or Computer Sciences or any of their subspecialties (e.g. biomedical engineering, nuclear engineering, etc.).
The program is primarily aimed at students who wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree and offers training in four specialties:
- Molecular Imaging (Imaging of the living chemistry of cells and tissues of the body)
- Medical Imaging (Imaging anatomy, physiology and pathology using MR, CT and other modalities)
- Therapeutic Medical Physics (Physics of radiation therapy and novel planning or delivery methods)
- Molecular and Cellular Oncology (Biological effects of radiation f
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - Infectious Disease
Director(s): Dr. Jesse Lawton Clark & Dr. Pamina M. Gorbach
Contact Name: Stephanie Buchbinder
Contact Email: Sbuchbinder@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-5147
Description
The Division of Infectious Diseases of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is pleased to offer its Postdoctoral Training Program in Biobehavioral Research Training for Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic as a way to prepare physician and social/behavioral scientists for academic research careers focused on integrated biomedical-biobehavioral approaches to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The program is funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a T32 mechanism, and supports 2 new fellows each year–one a physician who completed the formal clinical infectious diseases fellowship in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA, and one a social/behavioral scientist or a graduate with a doctoral degree from a relevant professional field (such as psychology, public health, public policy, sociology, anthropology, biological sciences, etc.), as long as the applicant is focused on an academic career in global HIV research.
The fellowship lasts up to 3 years. A successful graduate of the training program will have produced publications/abstracts, obtained career development funding (NIH K award or equivalent), and developed the tools to transition to an independent career as a physician-scientist. Original research is the heart of the fellowship, and our efforts are focused on ensuring that fellows successfully become independently funded investigators.
Trainees will participate in ongoing seminars, peer review, and relevant conferences. Professional development will focus on grant preparation, data analysis, manuscript preparation, presentation and teaching skills, and grant writing.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Molecular Biology Institute
Director(s): Jorge Torres, PhD
Contact Name: Jorge Torres
Contact Email: Torres@chem.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-2092
The CMB Training Program enhances opportunity for the study of cellular, biochemical, and molecular sciences at UCLA, providing research support and integrating coursework, seminar programs, and the Molecular Biology Institute's annual retreat. Our training faculty have access to graduate students pursuing a PhD through Graduate Programs in Bioscience, which includes the four Home Areas affiliated with the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental PhD (MBIDP) program (Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Structural Biology; Cell & Developmental Biology; Gene Regulation; Immunity, Microbes, & Molecular Pathogenesis), and through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, which includes the Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology Graduate Program.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Human Genetics
Director(s): Jeanette Papp
Contact Name: Jerome Keh
Contact Email: jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-0920
The Genomic Analysis Training Program is funded by a NIH grant and supports UCLA pre-doctoral students whose goal is to conduct research in genomics. The program is designed to ensure that students obtain an adequate biological, computational and statistical foundation to succeed in this important new, interdisciplinary field.
Each year, the Genomic Analysis Training Program provides its trainees with stipends and funding for academic fees. The grant also provides support for travel and research expenses.
Participating faculty represents a multidisciplinary approach to genomics including biological chemistry, biomathematics, biostatistics, cardiology, chemical engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, human genetics, molecular and medical pharmacology, pathology and laboratory medicine, and pediatrics.
Ideal undergraduate preparation for genomic analysis and interpretation includes
Mathematics:
- Multivariate calculus
- Linear algebra
- Statistics
Biology:
- Organic Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Molecular or Cell Biology
Computer Science:
- Programming in C++, Fortran 95 or Java
- Database structure and access
- Computational Complexity and Numerical Analysis
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Roel Ophoff, Carrie Bearden
Contact Name: CNG Training Program
Contact Email: cngT32@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics administers tightly integrated predoctoral and postdoctoral Training Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics. The program emphasizes training in human studies as well as in investigations of a wide range of model organisms and incorporate state-of-the-art approaches to neurobehavioral phenotyping, experimental and quantitative genetic analysis, and genomics.
Through joint funding from NIMH and NINDS, the program supports predoctoral trainees for (2) years and postdoctoral trainees for (1) year. Program activities include but are not limited to research training with a participating UCLA faculty, biweekly seminar series, biweekly journal club, annual retreat, training in quantitative and computational principles under faculty statistician, and training in responsible conduct of research.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Oliver Hankinson
Contact Name: Oliver Hankinson
Contact Email: ohank@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2936
The thirty faculty of our interdepartmental PhD in Molecular Toxicology Program come from sixteen different departments in the School of Medicine, the Fielding School of Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science at UCLA. Members of our faculty also participate in the activities of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the newly established California Nanosystems Institute. Areas of particular strength in our program include chemical carcinogenesis, repair of DNA damage, air pollution toxicology, nanotoxicology, and the environmental causation of Parkinson's disease. The program is supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Our program is now in its seventeenth year. Students from our first ten years (2001-2010) have all graduated.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Gay Crooks & Owen Witte
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The overarching goal of the Tumor Cell Biology Training Program (TCB-TP) is to equip the next generation of cancer biologists and clinician-scientists with the tools essential for innovative research. Recent improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer have been driven by the translation of paradigm-shifting basic research into clinical settings. Continued progress toward complete remission or cure of all cancer types will require an intensified effort on multiple fronts. For this to occur, it is essential that the next generation of cancer researchers have the knowledge, analytical tools, and critical thinking skills to integrate diverse fields of biology. In addition, it is imperative that basic science researchers be able to access and integrate the insights being generated by clinical researchers. We undertake this mission using two complementary approaches. The first is to provide comprehensive training in the fundamental and emerging mechanisms of tumor biology and the range of tools available to study these processes. The second is to provide a forum in which basic studies in tumor biology are viewed within the context of their relevance to diagnostics and therapeutics. These objectives are achieved through the participation of trainees and faculty with a diverse range of scientific interests and expertise in both basic and translational research. The training program brings together three pre-doctoral and five post-doctoral trainees, who are supported for at least two years while they conduct mentored research projects. Trainee mentors are drawn from twenty-four Ph.D. and M.D. program faculty members who are affiliated with 12 different UCLA departments, and whose areas of research include cancer-initiating cells, transcriptional regulation, tumor micro-environment, metabolism, computational biology, and cell division. A monthly seminar series brings together trainees and faculty to critically discuss research data presented by each trainee. The program leadership invites at least one translational and/or clinical investigator who has expertise in the topic under discussion and can contribute a clinical perspective to the seminar. One-on-one meetings between program leadership and trainees are designed to provide feedback on seminar content and effectiveness of the presentation, encourage trainees to discuss their progress and plans, and offer trainees an opportunity to express any concerns about their training environment. A written Individual Development Plan is completed annually by trainees and reviewed with the PIs and co-investigator. Courses on ethics and reproducibility in research are mandatory for all trainees. The Tumor Cell Biology Training Program will be jointly directed under the multi-PI mechanism by Dr. Gay M. Crooks and Dr. Owen N. Witte, senior academic leaders at UCLA with well-established programs in basic and translational research. The program enjoys strong campus support from, among others, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The PIs are assisted by co-investigator John Colicelli, and strategic oversight to the grant is provided by the Internal and External Advisory Committees.
Code: T32
Status: NCTE
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Michael Teitell
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The program provides training in all aspects of tumor immunology research. We propose to continue supporting a total of nine trainees (3 predoctoral, 6 postdoctoral) in a highly structured research training environment under the supervision of experienced and highly productive faculty mentors. Over the past 35 years, the UCLA Tumor Immunology Training Program (TITP) has bridged training in the fields of cancer and immunology, and is the sole UCLA training program integrating fundamental laboratory- based immunology with clinical oncology. For many years the TITP has remained vital through the recruitment of new faculty members from different departments into the program. In the next funded period, the focus on tumor immunology training is strengthened by including only topic-related faculty in the program. The TITP has leveraged UCLA's internationally recognized standing as a major center in clinical trials utilizing immunotherapy and genetic immunotherapy against a variety of cancers. Additional training leverage is provided by a top scoring Clinical Science Translational Institute (CTSI), directed by Dr. S Dubinett, who is a co-director of the TITP. The training program has been highly successful in developing new investigators with ~85-90% of trainees continuing research careers in academics or industry. Thus, the TITP continues as a strong complement of basic, translational, and clinical investigations in tumor immunology at UCLA.
A multitude of unique, interactive, and highly integrated activities in tumor immunology serve as an outstanding resource for our trainees. The TITP emphasizes training in the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of tumor cell-host immune interactions. At Pre, Post the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels, the TITP main goals are to: 1) identify and support outstanding trainees with a high level of interest and focus in tumor immunology research, 2) train scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in fundamental and clinical tumor immunology, 3) provide trainees with a solid background in the biological sciences with an emphasis in fundamental immunology, biochemistry, biology, genetics, and now also stem cell biology and nanotechnology, 4) facilitate career development by helping predoctoral trainees choose postdoctoral fellowships and obtain support, and by guiding postdoctoral trainees in obtaining positions in academia and industry, 5) acquaint and support trainees' interdisciplinary action and research opportunities, 6) introduce novel and significant projects for which beneficial outcomes will be derived, 7) acquaint trainees with state-of-the-art research through the training grant-supported fundamental and tumor immunology seminar series and associated journal clubs, and 8) provide trainees with regular opportunities to present their own research in seminar form and receive critical feedback from the training grant faculty and scientific community beyond UCLA by supporting trainee presentations at tumor immunology-related national and international meetings.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Human Genetics
Director(s): Dr. Julian A. Martinez and Dr. Stanley Nelson
Contact Name: Jerome Keh
Contact Email: jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-4625
Understanding the role genetics plays in both health and disease provides a path to integrating scientific discoveries into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of many diseases, both rare and common. Funded by an NIH NIGMS Postdoctoral T32 Training Grant and jointly directed by Dr. Julian Martinez and Dr. Stanley Nelson, the UCLA Intercampus Medical Genetics T32 Research Training Program seeks applicants with research interests in areas of genomic medicine, including pathophysiology, molecular mechanisms, phenotyping, and therapy for genetic diseases.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Edythe London
Contact Name: William Chu
Contact Email: williamchu@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-0606
The UCLA Translational Neuroscience of Drug Abuse (TNDA) Program set forth to link several successful UCLA research centers by establishing a unified training program. Each year, applications are accepted for Pre, Post pre- and postdoctoral fellowships (12-month, renewable appointments).
The program is funded by a NIDA T32 Training Grant and provides trainees with the integrative knowledge base needed to conduct bidirectional translational studies including cutting-edge technical laboratory methods, computational approaches in data evaluation, and issues related to ethical treatment of human subjects. TNDA trainees will have a research project in a specific mentor’s laboratory but will gain exposure to other areas of drug abuse research through laboratory rotations, common core training elements as well as by formal and informal interaction among key faculty and TNDA leadership.
Successful researchers must also become adept at identifying sources of research funding and at preparing fundable applications that can further their independent investigation. TNDA trainees will receive didactic training and mentoring in these important areas, with emphasis on skills in scientific writing and presentation to enhance the dissemination of research findings.
Code: T42
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): NiKlas Krause (UCLA) & Dean Baker (UCI)
Contact Name: NiKlas Krause (UCLA) & Dean Baker (UCI)
Contact Email: niklaskrause@ucla.edu or dbaker@uci.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2079 (Dr. Krause) or 949-824-8690 (Dr. Baker)
Adults spend most of their waking hours in work environments that may be health-promoting or a major cause of increased injury risk, chronic diseases, prolonged disability, or premature mortality. Occupational epidemiology is one of the core scientific disciplines used to identify, quantify, and prevent such health risks in the work environment. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) sponsors 18 Education and Research Centers (ERC) across the US that provide academic graduate-level and professional interdisciplinary training in various fields related to occupational health or safety, including occupational epidemiology.
The Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (SCERC) at UCLA and UCI is directed by Dr. Niklas Krause, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and of Environmental Health Sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. The center’s Collaborative Research Training Program in Occupational Epidemiology is co-directed by Dr. Krause at UCLA and Dr. Dean Baker, MD, MPH, Professor in Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Medicine at UCI in collaboration with the respective epidemiology departments on both campuses.
The program offers fellowships for doctoral training in occupational epidemiology to students who choose to address occupational health or safety issues identified in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) in their dissertation research. Special emphasis is given to research training in chronic disease epidemiology (such as cardiovascular, respiratory, or neurological diseases), the epidemiology of work-related injury, musculoskeletal disorders, associated disability, and the study of chemical, physical, ergonomic, behavioral and work-organizational risk factors. Trainees follow the standard curriculum for doctoral students in the UCLA or UCI epidemiology program but will focus their elective coursework and research on occupational epidemiology and related exposure and risk assessment methods. They also participate in interdisciplinary training activities with other SCERC trainees from related academic training in occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, and industrial hygiene. Professors in the UCLA departments of epidemiology (Onyebuchi Arah, Leeka Kheifets, Niklas Krause, and Beate Ritz) and in the UCI Department of medicine (Dean Baker) and epidemiology (Anton-Culver, Ralph Defino) provide primary mentorship for this collaborative research training program. Additional faculty in these and other departments and schools provide access to data and specialized training in specific research areas as needed.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Director(s): Reza Ardehali
Contact Name: Reza Ardehali
Contact Email: vbtp@mbi.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The main objective of the Vascular Biology Training Program is to develop the next generation of cardiovascular biologists. The program places a strong emphasis on creativity, networking and self-motivation to develop independent scientists who will make significant contributions to biomedical research and be an asset to the institutions and communities they serve.
To achieve these goals we have developed a strong mentorship approach, novel didactic components and incorporated high exposure to medicine. UCLA houses a tremendous resource of interdisciplinary groups whose research focuses in vascular biology. The group includes 27 laboratories that currently offer training to 124 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. It is this community that constitutes the pillars of a unique training program for the next generation of investigators in this area of research.
The Program is funded by a grant from the NHLBI that supports pre-and post-doctoral trainees for three and two years respectively. The program also features a highly interactive seminar series with outside speakers and several seminar venues for discussion of science by trainees and UCLA investigators. We invite you to drive through the website and get to learn more about our program and recent accomplishments.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Jules Stein Eye Institute
Director(s): Alapakkam Sampath
Contact Name: Alappakam Sampath
Contact Email: asampath@jsei.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2024
The Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) has its home in the Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, and has been continuously active for more than 40 years. During this period the VSTP has trained nearly 140 scientists, a large portion who have gone on to distinguished careers in vision science. The Program covers the training of Pre, Post predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and takes place in the laboratories of 14 faculty mentors. These vision scientists possess expertise in a wide range of disciplines and hold academic appointments in 13 departments at UCLA. Applicants for predoctoral fellowships first enter UCLA through one of several graduate programs, and they complete the curriculum associated with that program. After a year of rotations they join the laboratory of a VSTP mentor.
Applicants for postdoctoral fellowships apply directly to the VSTP lab of interest. All trainees that are members of VSTP labs are invited to participate in the curricular offerings of this program. These offerings are collectively designed to provide experimental and conceptual training in vision science, as many of the trainees have no prior experience in vision science. All fellows are required to take Fundamentals of Vision Research, a quarter-long course organized and taught by VSTP members. Additionally fellows are integral members of the scientific environment at JSEI through attendance and participation in a number of events, including the weekly Vision Science Seminar Series, the Vision Science Journal Club, and the Annual Vision Science Retreat held in Lake Arrowhead. A particular focus of the VSTP for this grant period is the stronger integration of basic and clinical science. Several offerings will help bridge the gap between these two research focuses by facilitating interactions between the scientists and the clinicians, including the Annual UCLA Stein Eye Clinical and Research Seminar, Translational Grand Rounds, and a Basic-Clinical Science Exchange program. Such experiences will help trainees to place their research into the context of visual health and disease.
A major addition to the VSTP will be a dedicated program focused on the postdoctoral trainees, to support their transition to independent investigators. An NRSA F32 Training Course will be offered to all postdoctoral fellows in VSTP labs to provide formal training in how to craft and submit an effective NIH research proposal. Given the interdisciplinary nature of vision research, the overall goal of the VSTP is to bring together faculty with a wide range of expertise (including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pharmacology, cell biology, and developmental biology) to provide interdisciplinary experimental and conceptual training to predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates seeking to develop careers in vision science. Continued funding of the VSTP will permit the JSEI to carry on its critical mission of training the next generation of first-rate basic and clinical vision scientists.
Predoctoral Programs
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Psychology
Director(s): Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Name: Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Email: dunkel@psych.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8816
A number of strengths in our program make it a unique and exciting place for graduate or postdoctoral study. Opportunities for training in biopsychosocial bases of health and illness are broad, well developed, and still growing. Our faculty has established programs of research on the reciprocal links between psychological and physical health and disease which provide superb venues for research experience. The faculty is composed of scholars with expertise in psychoneuroimmunology; stress, coping, and social support processes; health behavior and behavior change; social neuroscience; and ethnic, racial, and sociocultural aspects of health with a range of theoretical and methodological approaches brought to bear on these central themes (e.g., family, individual, community perspectives; experimental, intervention, daily diary, and survey research). In addition, our program offers research opportunities in cancer, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease, as well as healthy populations. Research programs on depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disease, and schizophrenia by affiliated faculty offer further venues for our students to study comorbidities and integrate mind and body approaches in their research. Finally, our faculty have extensive ongoing interdisciplinary research collaborations in psychiatry, public health, social science, life science, medical science, and nursing for student involvement.
Code: T15
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Alex Bui
Contact Name: Isabel Rippy
Contact Email: irippy@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The Institute for Precision Health and the Department of Computational Medicine offer a Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training program in Biomedical Data Science and Precision Health with support from the National Library of Medicine. The co-directors are Bogdan Pasaniuc and Alex Bui.
The program combines didactic training in computational and statistical methods for large-scale analyses involving biomedical data (e.g., multi-omics; electronic health records, EHRs). Trainees will acquire breadth in biomedical informatics and data science, as well as targeted learning in specific topics around equity, bioethics, and precision health. All trainees will have a mentorship team that co-supervises them through a research experience in precision health. We approach the training through the unifying lens of precision health. Trainees choose from four areas:
Healthcare/clinical informatics
Translational bioinformatics
Clinical research informatics
Public health informatics
Trainees will choose a faculty mentor from over 30 participating professors that represent 14 primary home departments from the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science.
Code: Other
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): Beate Ritz & Tom Drake
Contact Name: Irish del Rosario
Contact Email: IdelRosario@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-7458
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund Inter-school Training Program in Chronic Diseases (BWF-CHIP), directed by Dr. Beate Ritz (Epidemiology) and Dr. Thomas Drake (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine), provides training in laboratory and population sciences to integrate research along the entire continuum from molecules to populations. Chronic diseases are the number one epidemic of our time in Western Nations and are gaining importance in low resource countries. The etiologic complexity of chronic diseases requires a multidisciplinary approach that goes beyond simply translating epidemiologic, basic science, and genetic discoveries into clinical and public health practice.
With a team of outstanding UCLA researchers and educators at the cutting edge of their research, the program harnesses major advances in biomedical, genetic, and population sciences and focuses on the integration of these approaches. By providing foundational training and research experience in basic, clinical, and population-based approaches, trainees are being prepared to integrate population-based quantitative sciences with laboratory-based biological sciences to effectively lead cross-disciplinary studies of the future.
The BWF-CHIP Training Program is open to all UCLA graduate students (PhD, MD) who seek to apply advanced genomic, molecular, population-based, and quantitative methods to the study of disease distribution in human populations. Acceptance into this program will provide trainees in this area of research with the foundational quantitative and laboratory knowledge to enable important interdisciplinary research in chronic diseases. This program provides up to two years of support for UCLA fees and tuition, in addition to stipend support at a rate comparable to those set by NIH or NSF.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: California Center for Population Research
Director(s): Jennie E. Brand
Contact Name: Steve Johnson
Contact Email: Steven@ccpr.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-267-4342
CCPR is the primary center for research and training in demography and population at UCLA. CCPR faculty are concentrated in Sociology, Economics, and Community Health Sciences, the three primary disciplines in which population scientists are trained in the U.S., as well as in related fields, e.g., geography, and public policy. The recent hiring of population scientists has increased the number of CCPR affiliates and attracted increased numbers of students interested in demographic and population studies. Accordingly, funding is requested for 6 predoctoral traineeships per year, an increase of 2 over our training grant award in 2001 and the renewal in 2006 and 2011. The training program that we seek to renew and expand plays a central role in CCPR-coordinated training at UCLA. It builds on strong graduate programs in sociology, economics, and public health; a distinguished multi-disciplinary faculty with a diverse portfolio of research that spans economic, social, and health demography and reflects the NICHD/PDB mission; and abundant resources for population research at UCLA.
We seek to train the next generation of population scientists to carry out theoretically informed, methodologically sophisticated research on topics of contemporary relevance that relate to population studies. We have built an innovative curriculum in each of the three core departments, Sociology, Economics, and Community Health Sciences (CHS), and integrated interdisciplinary training in population science into their programs. For the renewal, we retain the existing features of the successful program, including a training seminar with presentations by invited speakers, trainee proseminar, mentorship, and cross-disciplinary coursework. Since the previous renewal, we added the trainee proseminar at which current and past trainees meet with invited faculty guests and discuss the speaker's research and research trajectory. We also added the requirement that all trainees complete at least one course in demography from an approved list of courses. We will also add the requirement that all trainees complete at least one advanced methods course. The program has a remarkable record of success in producing independent investigators who carry out cutting-edge research on social, economic, and public health topics that reflect the NICHD mission. Of the 29 trainees who have completed their PhD since 2005, 11 are now assistant or associate professors at major universities, 9 hold research-intensive positions, 4 are postdoctoral researchers at major universities, and 4 hold appointments as lecturers (with 1 currently on the market). Thus, most trainees secure tenure-track faculty or other research-intensive positions, often preceded by prestigious postdoctoral fellowships.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): Zuofeng Zhang
Contact Name: Cathy Lang
Contact Email: clang@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8501
The objective of the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program is to continue to implement an innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research training program in molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology for five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees.
The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has been training pre-and postdoctoral candidates in cancer epidemiology since 1975. From the beginning, the objective of the program has been to provide trainees with rigorous coursework and applied research experiences in cancer epidemiology, integrating epidemiology, statistics, and biology. Since 1999, the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has emphasized Pre, Post epidemiologic methodology and the molecular and genetic epidemiology of cancer. The Program is directed by Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, and co-directed by Dr. Roger Detels.
The Specific Aim of the program is to train up to five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees at any given year during the program cycle in an interdisciplinary program of cancer molecular genetic epidemiologic research leading to the M.S. (postdoctoral program only) and Ph.D. degrees in epidemiology. Postdoctoral trainees with prior doctoral training in epidemiology will develop and complete research projects under the mentorship of one of the key program faculty. The rationale of this training program is to provide the best possible training in epidemiologic methodology, which will prepare students for carrying out research on a wide range of health issues. Predoctoral trainees are to complete all courses required in epidemiology methodology, as well as additional courses in the application of epidemiology in cancer research, including cancer epidemiology, behavioral epidemiology, genetic modeling, the molecular basis of cancer, and molecular epidemiology. The program provides an opportunity for students to learn genetic and molecular aspects of cancer and to apply their methodological skills in investigating problems related to cancer etiology, intervention, and control. Ultimately, the training program will yield a core of strong methodologists with expertise in genetic and molecular cancer epidemiology.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department:
Director(s): Patrick G. Harran
Contact Name: Christina Ungermann
Contact Email:
Contact Phone: 530-574-8539
Description
The Chemistry-Biology Interface (CBI) Predoctoral Research Training Program at UCLA is an NIH-funded program designed to provide research training to predoctoral students in chemical approaches to the solution of biological problems. Students selected to participate are trained in the language and techniques of biological and chemical sciences, and gain experience in solving complex issues in the realms of chemistry, pharmacology, and the medical sciences. The training grant encourages collaboration between its members, providing a unique opportunity for students to work on multidisciplinary teams at the interface of chemistry and biology.
Previous fellows have gone on to hold prestigious appointments at UCLA, other universities, and in the private sector. Students in the training program are required to complete an internship in the course of their studies, and CBI places a major emphasis on fostering connections between its training grant members and the pharmaceutical industry. At the program's annual CBI Day, trainees present research to an audience of faculty, industry reps, and alumni. This event is a culmination of the program's focus on professional development, and features industry and university speakers. It provides a unique opportunity for students to make connections with alumni and professional contacts.
The mission of the UCLA Chemistry-Biology Interface training grant is to provide rigorous research training, professional development, and mentoring to a diverse group of predoctoral students in a collaborative, interdisciplinary environment. The grant has been housed within the Chemistry and Biochemistry department at UCLA since 1996.
Code: TL1
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Moira Inkelas (TL1 Translational Science Fellowship) and William Cunningham (TL1 Summer Fellowship)
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Fellowship is awarded to incoming pre-doctoral students in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA School of Public Health. Fellows receive mentored training to ensure the translational nature of their dissertation projects. The goal of the fellowship is to provide pre-doctoral fellows with the investigative skills to create new knowledge about health services.
UCLA CTSI TL1 Summer Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Summer Fellowship is for health professional students (medical, nursing and dental) during their training. The program will provide each individual with early exposure to the practice of interdisciplinary, community-partnered translational or health services research in urban underserved communities. Each student in the program will attend a weekly seminar (for 8 weeks) where they will hear about topics such as introduction to health disparities research, access to care, quality of care, community-partnered research methods, ethics of conducting community-oriented research, study design, measurement of outcomes in communities, introduction to comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses. Each student in this program will be paired with a faculty mentor who conducts either clinical or community-partnered or health services research and will be expected to work on a project with the mentor. Findings from this work will be presented in a CTSI-sponsored poster session and possibly co-authorship for the student in a peer-reviewed publication resulting from the project. Mentorship activities will provide the trainee with first-hand experience working on disparities-related research projects.
Code: T90/R90
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Dentistry
Director(s): Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Name: Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Email: htonthat@mednet.ucla.edu; dwong@dentistry.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-267-5910; 310- 206-3048
The UCLA T90 training program provides comprehensive research training opportunities and career development plans encompassing 5 training tracks for DDS/PhD, Dentist-PhD, Dentist Postdoctoral, Predoctoral PhD, and Post-PhD Research. In addition, the R90 component offers research training to non-citizen dentist-scientists. Four areas of research emphasis include: (1) Cancer Biology, Oral Cancer & Stem Cells, (2) Craniofacial Biology, Bioengineering & Regenerative Medicine, (3) Microbes – Virulence Mechanism & Advanced Imaging by Cryo-electron Microscopy, and (4) Translational Genetics, Epigenetics, & Genomics..
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Alex Bui
Contact Name: Isabel Rippy
Contact Email: irippy@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-3534
This T32 is focused on supporting graduate students pursuing medical and imaging informatics research at UCLA. With the now ubiquitous usage of imaging as an in vivo method for objectively documenting and elucidating disease and the human condition, novel research challenges arise in the acquisition, understanding, and usage of imaging and related (clinical) data in realizing new knowledge and improved health outcomes. This training program supports doctoral students from a variety of departments, including Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Studies.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Deans Office School of Medicine
Director(s):Olujimi Ajijola & David Dawson
Contact Name: Azucena Esquivel
Contact Email: aesquivel@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-1817
Welcome to the UCLA-Caltech MSTP website! Having recently celebrated our 30th year as an NIH-funded MSTP, we are proud to direct a program with a history of training outstanding physician-scientists. We believe that the clinical and research enterprises at our institution are ideal for combined MD-PhD training. Since its opening in 1955, the UCLA Medical Center (now the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center) has been committed to the bench-to-bedside research and has fostered a pervasive culture of collaborative, interdisciplinary science. This is reflected in the architecture of the campus, with the Hospital, Medical Center, and Health Sciences complex all within walking distance of the College of Letters and Sciences, School of Engineering, and nine other professional schools on a single, beautiful campus in West Los Angeles. The breadth and excellence of research at both UCLA and Caltech allow us to offer rigorous training in a wide array of disciplines relevant to improving human health and medicine, ranging from basic sciences to engineering to social sciences and health policy.
We recruit and support students who display a passion for scientific knowledge and a life-long commitment to research and leadership. We are additionally committed to the recruitment and training of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and ethnic groups that are under-represented in the sciences, and students with disabilities. Our students complete their medical training at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and their PhD in one of many graduate training programs at the university. Each year, two students pursue their graduate training at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), where they can draw from the strengths of its dynamic faculty and research community
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
Director(s): Patricia Johnson
Contact Name: Patricia J. Johnson
Contact Email: johnsonp@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-4870
The UCLA Microbial Pathogenesis Training Grant provides the foundation for an integrated research training program in biochemistry, cell biology & genetics of microbial pathogens and host-pathogen interactions. The program's goal is to train scientists to conduct research in microbial pathogenesis using molecular, cellular, genetic, immunological, genomic and post-genomic approaches. Our training faculty includes 23 preceptors with a broad range of related research interests in the areas of bacteriology, parasitology, virology, and immunology. Faculty preceptors have excellent publication, funding and training records. The program, first funded in 1988 was continually funded for 25 years until 2013. The program is small, with six predoctoral and two postdoctoral funded positions; yet it plays a vital role, not limited to trainees, in educating PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of microbial pathogenesis at UCLA. Most of our predoctoral trainees are recruited through the Biosciences Program (BSP) which will provide an excellent pool of ~45 - 55 predoctoral students yearly. In recent years >30% of entering PhD students express interests in microbiology, immunology and host:pathogen interactions.
Our faculty are also highly successful in attracting qualified postdoctoral fellows, having >10 postdoctoral fellows eligible for support in any given year. Trainees are selected for funding on a competitive basis, after a thorough review of their academic and research accomplishments. Progress is reviewed at least twice a year and appointments are renewed yearly with a maximum of three years of support for predoctoral trainees and two years for postdoctoral trainees. The training program requires the completion of coursework focused on microbial pathogenesis, annual presentations of trainee research in symposia attended by all trainees and training preceptors, and participation in a Microbial Pathogenesis seminar series composed of external, preeminent scientists in the field & associated literature discussions.
Trainees also participate in a journal club focused on host:pathogen interactions and newly emerging infectious agents. These journal clubs are jointly facilitated by training preceptors and trainees and serve to broaden trainee education. Participation in a course devoted to ethics and accountability in biomedical research and [a scientific writing course] is also required. [All trainees will be required to develop career objectives guided by "My Individual Development Plan (IDP)".] [Postdoctoral trainees are also required to participate in the PhD Career Training Series and research-related career-focused workshops. Career counseling by the program director and training grant advisory committee is also emphasized.] Annual research presentations at national meetings and UCLA scientific retreats are expected. The focal point of our training program is excellence in research. Several mechanisms are in place to monitor and facilitate trainee progress in research and career development. Our past training efforts have been successful and continued success is anticipated following the plan described in this proposal.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Integrative Biology & Physiology
Director(s): Rachelle Crosbie-Watson & Carrie Miceli
Contact Name: Rachelle Crosbie-Watson
Contact Email: rcrosbie@physci.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-2103
Muscle cell biology is an area of exciting growth in translational medicine. Muscular dystrophies are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. Translational research in muscular dystrophies is expanding, as academic and industry partnerships yield new potential treatments that are currently being assessed in clinics around the world.
The goal of the Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is to capitalize on the momentum that arose from this explosion of translational research. The training program will capitalize on and bridge the talents of muscle cell biologists and translational experts to provide trainees with a broad education based in basic science and exposure to many aspects of disease-related research. The Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is designed to train the best possible young scientists to lead the muscle biology community in the next phase of discovery and translational muscle science. Trainees conduct research projects under the supervision of primary mentors and participate in the CDMD training activities, including biweekly data meetings, journal clubs, and the annual CDMD scientific retreat.
We encourage the recruitment, retention, and training of scholars who are members of underrepresented groups and diverse specialties and with disabilities. Program co- Directors, Rachelle Crosbie-Watson, Ph.D. and M. Carrie Miceli, Ph.D., can address further questions about the program and applicant qualifications.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Michael McNitt-Gray
Contact Name: Reth Im
Contact Email: rtim@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-7811
Physics and Biology in Medicine Research Training is an interdisciplinary graduate program in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Faculty and students in the program are involved in Biomedical Research in Radiological Imaging and Therapy that operates at the intersection of traditional disciplines. In addition, it requires interdisciplinary teams of scientists with backgrounds in:
- Biology or its subspecialties (e.g. molecular biology, etc.)
- Chemistry or its subspecialties (e.g. biochemistry, etc.)
- Physics or its subspecialties (e.g. medical physics, biophysics, etc.)
- Mathematics or its subspecialties (e.g. computational methods, simulation, etc.)
- Engineering or Computer Sciences or any of their subspecialties (e.g. biomedical engineering, nuclear engineering, etc.).
The program is primarily aimed at students who wish to pursue the Ph.D. degree and offers training in four specialties:
- Molecular Imaging (Imaging of the living chemistry of cells and tissues of the body)
- Medical Imaging (Imaging anatomy, physiology and pathology using MR, CT and other modalities)
- Therapeutic Medical Physics (Physics of radiation therapy and novel planning or delivery methods)
- Molecular and Cellular Oncology (Biological effects of radiation f
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Molecular Biology Institute
Director(s): Jorge Torres, PhD
Contact Name: Jorge Torres
Contact Email: Torres@chem.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-2092
The CMB Training Program enhances opportunity for the study of cellular, biochemical, and molecular sciences at UCLA, providing research support and integrating coursework, seminar programs, and the Molecular Biology Institute's annual retreat. Our training faculty have access to graduate students pursuing a PhD through Graduate Programs in Bioscience, which includes the four Home Areas affiliated with the Molecular Biology Interdepartmental PhD (MBIDP) program (Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Structural Biology; Cell & Developmental Biology; Gene Regulation; Immunity, Microbes, & Molecular Pathogenesis), and through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, which includes the Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology Graduate Program.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Human Genetics
Director(s): Jeanette Papp
Contact Name: Jerome Keh
Contact Email: jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-0920
The Genomic Analysis Training Program is funded by a NIH grant and supports UCLA pre-doctoral students whose goal is to conduct research in genomics. The program is designed to ensure that students obtain an adequate biological, computational and statistical foundation to succeed in this important new, interdisciplinary field.
Each year, the Genomic Analysis Training Program provides its trainees with stipends and funding for academic fees. The grant also provides support for travel and research expenses.
Participating faculty represents a multidisciplinary approach to genomics including biological chemistry, biomathematics, biostatistics, cardiology, chemical engineering, chemistry and biochemistry, human genetics, molecular and medical pharmacology, pathology and laboratory medicine, and pediatrics.
Ideal undergraduate preparation for genomic analysis and interpretation includes
Mathematics:
- Multivariate calculus
- Linear algebra
- Statistics
Biology:
- Organic Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Molecular or Cell Biology
Computer Science:
- Programming in C++, Fortran 95 or Java
- Database structure and access
- Computational Complexity and Numerical Analysis
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Roel Ophoff, Carrie Bearden
Contact Name: CNG Training Program
Contact Email: cngT32@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics administers tightly integrated predoctoral and postdoctoral Training Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics. The program emphasizes training in human studies as well as in investigations of a wide range of model organisms and incorporate state-of-the-art approaches to neurobehavioral phenotyping, experimental and quantitative genetic analysis, and genomics.
Through joint funding from NIMH and NINDS, the program supports predoctoral trainees for (2) years and postdoctoral trainees for (1) year. Program activities include but are not limited to research training with a participating UCLA faculty, biweekly seminar series, biweekly journal club, annual retreat, training in quantitative and computational principles under faculty statistician, and training in responsible conduct of research.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Oliver Hankinson
Contact Name: Oliver Hankinson
Contact Email: ohank@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2936
The thirty faculty of our interdepartmental PhD in Molecular Toxicology Program come from sixteen different departments in the School of Medicine, the Fielding School of Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science at UCLA. Members of our faculty also participate in the activities of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the newly established California Nanosystems Institute. Areas of particular strength in our program include chemical carcinogenesis, repair of DNA damage, air pollution toxicology, nanotoxicology, and the environmental causation of Parkinson's disease. The program is supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Our program is now in its seventeenth year. Students from our first ten years (2001-2010) have all graduated.
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Description
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Gay Crooks & Owen Witte
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The overarching goal of the Tumor Cell Biology Training Program (TCB-TP) is to equip the next generation of cancer biologists and clinician-scientists with the tools essential for innovative research. Recent improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer have been driven by the translation of paradigm-shifting basic research into clinical settings. Continued progress toward complete remission or cure of all cancer types will require an intensified effort on multiple fronts. For this to occur, it is essential that the next generation of cancer researchers have the knowledge, analytical tools, and critical thinking skills to integrate diverse fields of biology. In addition, it is imperative that basic science researchers be able to access and integrate the insights being generated by clinical researchers. We undertake this mission using two complementary approaches. The first is to provide comprehensive training in the fundamental and emerging mechanisms of tumor biology and the range of tools available to study these processes. The second is to provide a forum in which basic studies in tumor biology are viewed within the context of their relevance to diagnostics and therapeutics. These objectives are achieved through the participation of trainees and faculty with a diverse range of scientific interests and expertise in both basic and translational research. The training program brings together three pre-doctoral and five post-doctoral trainees, who are supported for at least two years while they conduct mentored research projects. Trainee mentors are drawn from twenty-four Ph.D. and M.D. program faculty members who are affiliated with 12 different UCLA departments, and whose areas of research include cancer-initiating cells, transcriptional regulation, tumor micro-environment, metabolism, computational biology, and cell division. A monthly seminar series brings together trainees and faculty to critically discuss research data presented by each trainee. The program leadership invites at least one translational and/or clinical investigator who has expertise in the topic under discussion and can contribute a clinical perspective to the seminar. One-on-one meetings between program leadership and trainees are designed to provide feedback on seminar content and effectiveness of the presentation, encourage trainees to discuss their progress and plans, and offer trainees an opportunity to express any concerns about their training environment. A written Individual Development Plan is completed annually by trainees and reviewed with the PIs and co-investigator. Courses on ethics and reproducibility in research are mandatory for all trainees. The Tumor Cell Biology Training Program will be jointly directed under the multi-PI mechanism by Dr. Gay M. Crooks and Dr. Owen N. Witte, senior academic leaders at UCLA with well-established programs in basic and translational research. The program enjoys strong campus support from, among others, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The PIs are assisted by co-investigator John Colicelli, and strategic oversight to the grant is provided by the Internal and External Advisory Committees.
Code: T32
Status: NCTE
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Michael Teitell
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The program provides training in all aspects of tumor immunology research. We propose to continue supporting a total of nine trainees (3 predoctoral, 6 postdoctoral) in a highly structured research training environment under the supervision of experienced and highly productive faculty mentors. Over the past 35 years, the UCLA Tumor Immunology Training Program (TITP) has bridged training in the fields of cancer and immunology, and is the sole UCLA training program integrating fundamental laboratory- based immunology with clinical oncology. For many years the TITP has remained vital through the recruitment of new faculty members from different departments into the program. In the next funded period, the focus on tumor immunology training is strengthened by including only topic-related faculty in the program. The TITP has leveraged UCLA's internationally recognized standing as a major center in clinical trials utilizing immunotherapy and genetic immunotherapy against a variety of cancers. Additional training leverage is provided by a top scoring Clinical Science Translational Institute (CTSI), directed by Dr. S Dubinett, who is a co-director of the TITP. The training program has been highly successful in developing new investigators with ~85-90% of trainees continuing research careers in academics or industry. Thus, the TITP continues as a strong complement of basic, translational, and clinical investigations in tumor immunology at UCLA.
A multitude of unique, interactive, and highly integrated activities in tumor immunology serve as an outstanding resource for our trainees. The TITP emphasizes training in the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of tumor cell-host immune interactions. At Pre, Post the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels, the TITP main goals are to: 1) identify and support outstanding trainees with a high level of interest and focus in tumor immunology research, 2) train scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in fundamental and clinical tumor immunology, 3) provide trainees with a solid background in the biological sciences with an emphasis in fundamental immunology, biochemistry, biology, genetics, and now also stem cell biology and nanotechnology, 4) facilitate career development by helping predoctoral trainees choose postdoctoral fellowships and obtain support, and by guiding postdoctoral trainees in obtaining positions in academia and industry, 5) acquaint and support trainees' interdisciplinary action and research opportunities, 6) introduce novel and significant projects for which beneficial outcomes will be derived, 7) acquaint trainees with state-of-the-art research through the training grant-supported fundamental and tumor immunology seminar series and associated journal clubs, and 8) provide trainees with regular opportunities to present their own research in seminar form and receive critical feedback from the training grant faculty and scientific community beyond UCLA by supporting trainee presentations at tumor immunology-related national and international meetings.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Edythe London
Contact Name: William Chu
Contact Email: williamchu@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-0606
The UCLA Translational Neuroscience of Drug Abuse (TNDA) Program set forth to link several successful UCLA research centers by establishing a unified training program. Each year, applications are accepted for Pre, Post pre- and postdoctoral fellowships (12-month, renewable appointments).
The program is funded by a NIDA T32 Training Grant and provides trainees with the integrative knowledge base needed to conduct bidirectional translational studies including cutting-edge technical laboratory methods, computational approaches in data evaluation, and issues related to ethical treatment of human subjects. TNDA trainees will have a research project in a specific mentor’s laboratory but will gain exposure to other areas of drug abuse research through laboratory rotations, common core training elements as well as by formal and informal interaction among key faculty and TNDA leadership.
Successful researchers must also become adept at identifying sources of research funding and at preparing fundable applications that can further their independent investigation. TNDA trainees will receive didactic training and mentoring in these important areas, with emphasis on skills in scientific writing and presentation to enhance the dissemination of research findings.
Code: T42
Status: Active
Type: Pre
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): NiKlas Krause (UCLA) & Dean Baker (UCI)
Contact Name: NiKlas Krause (UCLA) & Dean Baker (UCI)
Contact Email: niklaskrause@ucla.edu or dbaker@uci.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2079 (Dr. Krause) or 949-824-8690 (Dr. Baker)
Adults spend most of their waking hours in work environments that may be health-promoting or a major cause of increased injury risk, chronic diseases, prolonged disability, or premature mortality. Occupational epidemiology is one of the core scientific disciplines used to identify, quantify, and prevent such health risks in the work environment. The National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) sponsors 18 Education and Research Centers (ERC) across the US that provide academic graduate-level and professional interdisciplinary training in various fields related to occupational health or safety, including occupational epidemiology.
The Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center (SCERC) at UCLA and UCI is directed by Dr. Niklas Krause, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology and of Environmental Health Sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. The center’s Collaborative Research Training Program in Occupational Epidemiology is co-directed by Dr. Krause at UCLA and Dr. Dean Baker, MD, MPH, Professor in Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Medicine at UCI in collaboration with the respective epidemiology departments on both campuses.
The program offers fellowships for doctoral training in occupational epidemiology to students who choose to address occupational health or safety issues identified in the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) in their dissertation research. Special emphasis is given to research training in chronic disease epidemiology (such as cardiovascular, respiratory, or neurological diseases), the epidemiology of work-related injury, musculoskeletal disorders, associated disability, and the study of chemical, physical, ergonomic, behavioral and work-organizational risk factors. Trainees follow the standard curriculum for doctoral students in the UCLA or UCI epidemiology program but will focus their elective coursework and research on occupational epidemiology and related exposure and risk assessment methods. They also participate in interdisciplinary training activities with other SCERC trainees from related academic training in occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, and industrial hygiene. Professors in the UCLA departments of epidemiology (Onyebuchi Arah, Leeka Kheifets, Niklas Krause, and Beate Ritz) and in the UCI Department of medicine (Dean Baker) and epidemiology (Anton-Culver, Ralph Defino) provide primary mentorship for this collaborative research training program. Additional faculty in these and other departments and schools provide access to data and specialized training in specific research areas as needed.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Director(s): Reza Ardehali
Contact Name: Reza Ardehali
Contact Email: vbtp@mbi.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The main objective of the Vascular Biology Training Program is to develop the next generation of cardiovascular biologists. The program places a strong emphasis on creativity, networking and self-motivation to develop independent scientists who will make significant contributions to biomedical research and be an asset to the institutions and communities they serve.
To achieve these goals we have developed a strong mentorship approach, novel didactic components and incorporated high exposure to medicine. UCLA houses a tremendous resource of interdisciplinary groups whose research focuses in vascular biology. The group includes 27 laboratories that currently offer training to 124 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. It is this community that constitutes the pillars of a unique training program for the next generation of investigators in this area of research.
The Program is funded by a grant from the NHLBI that supports pre-and post-doctoral trainees for three and two years respectively. The program also features a highly interactive seminar series with outside speakers and several seminar venues for discussion of science by trainees and UCLA investigators. We invite you to drive through the website and get to learn more about our program and recent accomplishments.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Jules Stein Eye Institute
Director(s): Alapakkam Sampath
Contact Name: Alappakam Sampath
Contact Email: asampath@jsei.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2024
The Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) has its home in the Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, and has been continuously active for more than 40 years. During this period the VSTP has trained nearly 140 scientists, a large portion who have gone on to distinguished careers in vision science. The Program covers the training of Pre, Post predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and takes place in the laboratories of 14 faculty mentors. These vision scientists possess expertise in a wide range of disciplines and hold academic appointments in 13 departments at UCLA. Applicants for predoctoral fellowships first enter UCLA through one of several graduate programs, and they complete the curriculum associated with that program. After a year of rotations they join the laboratory of a VSTP mentor.
Applicants for postdoctoral fellowships apply directly to the VSTP lab of interest. All trainees that are members of VSTP labs are invited to participate in the curricular offerings of this program. These offerings are collectively designed to provide experimental and conceptual training in vision science, as many of the trainees have no prior experience in vision science. All fellows are required to take Fundamentals of Vision Research, a quarter-long course organized and taught by VSTP members. Additionally fellows are integral members of the scientific environment at JSEI through attendance and participation in a number of events, including the weekly Vision Science Seminar Series, the Vision Science Journal Club, and the Annual Vision Science Retreat held in Lake Arrowhead. A particular focus of the VSTP for this grant period is the stronger integration of basic and clinical science. Several offerings will help bridge the gap between these two research focuses by facilitating interactions between the scientists and the clinicians, including the Annual UCLA Stein Eye Clinical and Research Seminar, Translational Grand Rounds, and a Basic-Clinical Science Exchange program. Such experiences will help trainees to place their research into the context of visual health and disease.
A major addition to the VSTP will be a dedicated program focused on the postdoctoral trainees, to support their transition to independent investigators. An NRSA F32 Training Course will be offered to all postdoctoral fellows in VSTP labs to provide formal training in how to craft and submit an effective NIH research proposal. Given the interdisciplinary nature of vision research, the overall goal of the VSTP is to bring together faculty with a wide range of expertise (including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pharmacology, cell biology, and developmental biology) to provide interdisciplinary experimental and conceptual training to predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates seeking to develop careers in vision science. Continued funding of the VSTP will permit the JSEI to carry on its critical mission of training the next generation of first-rate basic and clinical vision scientists.
Postdoctoral Programs
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Psychology
Director(s): Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Name: Christine Dunkel Schetter
Contact Email: dunkel@psych.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8816
A number of strengths in our program make it a unique and exciting place for graduate or postdoctoral study. Opportunities for training in biopsychosocial bases of health and illness are broad, well developed, and still growing. Our faculty has established programs of research on the reciprocal links between psychological and physical health and disease which provide superb venues for research experience. The faculty is composed of scholars with expertise in psychoneuroimmunology; stress, coping, and social support processes; health behavior and behavior change; social neuroscience; and ethnic, racial, and sociocultural aspects of health with a range of theoretical and methodological approaches brought to bear on these central themes (e.g., family, individual, community perspectives; experimental, intervention, daily diary, and survey research). In addition, our program offers research opportunities in cancer, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and heart disease, as well as healthy populations. Research programs on depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disease, and schizophrenia by affiliated faculty offer further venues for our students to study comorbidities and integrate mind and body approaches in their research. Finally, our faculty have extensive ongoing interdisciplinary research collaborations in psychiatry, public health, social science, life science, medical science, and nursing for student involvement.
Code: T15
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Computational Medicine
Director(s): Bogdan Pasaniuc and Alex Bui
Contact Name: Stacey Beggs
Contact Email: sbeggs@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-1021
The Institute for Precision Health and the Department of Computational Medicine offer a Predoctoral and Postdoctoral training program in Biomedical Data Science and Precision Health with support from the National Library of Medicine. The co-directors are Bogdan Pasaniuc and Alex Bui.
The program combines didactic training in computational and statistical methods for large-scale analyses involving biomedical data (e.g., multi-omics; electronic health records, EHRs). Trainees will acquire breadth in biomedical informatics and data science, as well as targeted learning in specific topics around equity, bioethics, and precision health. All trainees will have a mentorship team that co-supervises them through a research experience in precision health. We approach the training through the unifying lens of precision health. Trainees choose from four areas:
Healthcare/clinical informatics
Translational bioinformatics
Clinical research informatics
Public health informatics
Trainees will choose a faculty mentor from over 30 participating professors that represent 14 primary home departments from the Schools of Medicine, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - VA Wadsworth Med CTR
Director(s): Tzung Hsiai, Dino Di Carlo, Azita Emami, Yu-Chong Tai
Contact Name:
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Description
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have partnered to integrate advanced imaging and sensing coupled with computing needed to translate technological innovation to address the global cardiometabolic disease. The UCLA/Caltech integrated Theranostic Engineering to Advance Metabolic Medicine (iTEAM) Program represents a new paradigm that will be formalized into a 2-year, structured curriculum with an emphasis on recruiting the under-represented post-doctoral engineers or physical scientists into leadership roles in academia and industry. The convergence of the fundamental strengths of Caltech and clinical strengths of UCLA is conducive to individualize training in 1) advanced sensing or 2) imaging coupled with computing to address 3) cardiometabolic disease. The iTEAM program is partnering with industry leaders (Amgen, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, and Edwards Lifesciences) for internship, mentorship, and leadership programs. Both the Caltech Diversity Center and UCLA Faculty Diversity & Development Office have supported workshops on Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) for women and underrepresented minorities. To implement this UCLA/Caltech iTEAM program, we have developed a mentoring and self-evaluating structure in the inclusion of 21 primary and co-mentors, 13 consulting mentors, and 10 industry leaders (42% female). Each iTEAM scholar will have co-mentorships: a primary mentor from enabling technologies and a secondary from cardiometabolic medicine and/or industry. In Year 1, iTEAM scholars will: 1) Participate in an initial two- day workshop including mentors, program leaders, clinicians, physician-scientists, and industry leaders to explore projects, expectations, mentorship, and goals; 2) Meet one-to-one with the Program Director(s) to finalize a primary (imaging or sensing) and a co-mentor (cardiometabolic disease or industry); 3) Develop an Individualized Development Plans (IDP) with the Advising & Training Committee to finalize the project; and 4) Strengthen fundamental knowledge in advanced imaging, sensors, or computation and didactic training for ethics in biomedical research and publications. In Year 2, iTEAM scholars will be afforded 1) the opportunity to present work-in-progress and provide feedback in quarterly meetings with a primary mentor and with a co- mentor, 2) an option to participate in a certificate in Pathways in Clinical and Translational Research from the UCLA Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI) or Law and Technology for FDA regulatory science (BE188/299); and/or 3) to participate in UCLA CTSI-sponsored professional development in preparation for an academic or industry career. Both Caltech and UCLA Deans have committed matching funds for each iTEAM scholar. UCLA Vice Provost for Graduate Education and has also committed supplemental trainee support to enhance the diversity of trainees. Overall, this program infuses the scientific workforce with the next generation of theranostic bioengineers prepared to solve the worldwide threat of cardiometabolic disease.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Epidemiology
Director(s): Zuofeng Zhang
Contact Name: Cathy Lang
Contact Email: clang@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-8501
The objective of the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program is to continue to implement an innovative, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research training program in molecular and genetic cancer epidemiology for five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees.
The Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has been training pre-and postdoctoral candidates in cancer epidemiology since 1975. From the beginning, the objective of the program has been to provide trainees with rigorous coursework and applied research experiences in cancer epidemiology, integrating epidemiology, statistics, and biology. Since 1999, the Cancer Epidemiology Training Program has emphasized Pre, Post epidemiologic methodology and the molecular and genetic epidemiology of cancer. The Program is directed by Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, and co-directed by Dr. Roger Detels.
The Specific Aim of the program is to train up to five predoctoral and two postdoctoral trainees at any given year during the program cycle in an interdisciplinary program of cancer molecular genetic epidemiologic research leading to the M.S. (postdoctoral program only) and Ph.D. degrees in epidemiology. Postdoctoral trainees with prior doctoral training in epidemiology will develop and complete research projects under the mentorship of one of the key program faculty. The rationale of this training program is to provide the best possible training in epidemiologic methodology, which will prepare students for carrying out research on a wide range of health issues. Predoctoral trainees are to complete all courses required in epidemiology methodology, as well as additional courses in the application of epidemiology in cancer research, including cancer epidemiology, behavioral epidemiology, genetic modeling, the molecular basis of cancer, and molecular epidemiology. The program provides an opportunity for students to learn genetic and molecular aspects of cancer and to apply their methodological skills in investigating problems related to cancer etiology, intervention, and control. Ultimately, the training program will yield a core of strong methodologists with expertise in genetic and molecular cancer epidemiology.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - Cardiology
Director(s): Karol Watson MD, PhD
Contact Name: Hayley Owen
Contact Email: HOwen@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-0258
The Divisions of Cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, and West LA VA Medical Center are pleased to offer fellowship training in cardiology. Successful applicants will receive comprehensive training in clinical cardiology at one of the Nation's premier Medical Centers and Schools of Medicine. There are two training tracks offered, both of which offer exemplary clinical training in the practice of cardiovascular medicine.
The Clinical Training track offers comprehensive clinical training in cardiovascular medicine over 2 years with one additional year of clinical research. Additional sub-specialty in Interventional Cardiology, Electrophysiology, Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation, and Adult Congenital Heart Disease is also available on a selective basis.
The second track known as the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) track offers trainees the same comprehensive clinical training over 2 years with additional intensive research training in an innovative career track. This STAR program is intended for physicians committed to academic careers. The UCLA Department of Medicine offers Ph.D. training combined with fellowship training as part of the research training. STAR Awardees complete clinical training toward board certification in cardiology as well as research training to complete a masters, PhD or a postdoctoral fellowship under the guidance of a faculty advisory panel representing the awardee's clinical and research interests. The Ph.D. is completed over a three to four-year period for a total of five to six-year training period. A master of clinical research is completed over a two to three-year period for a total of four to five year training period. Additional sub-specialty training is also available on a selective basis.
Code: TL1
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Moira Inkelas (HPM), Alex Bui & Douglas Bell (Clinical Informatics)
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
UCLA CTSI offers two post-doctoral programs, the Clinical Informatics Fellowship and the Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship.
UCLA CTSI Clinical Informatics Fellowship
Launch your career in the new subspecialty of clinical informatics, focusing on health information technology within health care delivery systems. Open to physicians who are board-certified or board-eligible in any specialty.
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Health are seeking outstanding applicants for a two-year fellowship in Clinical Informatics (CI) at the University of California, Los Angeles. The program is open to graduates of residency programs in any specialty.
UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship
The UCLA CTSI TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellowship is awarded to physicians and nurses who are pursuing training in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Fellows receive mentored training to ensure the translational nature of their dissertation projects. The goal of the fellowship is to provide postdoctoral fellows with the investigative skills to create new knowledge about health services.
TL1 Translational Science Postdoctoral Fellows receive an annual stipend commensurate with their NRSA PGY level, as well as funding for tuition/fees and training-related travel. The fellowships are renewable for up to two years in 12-month increments, contingent on satisfactory degree progress.
Code: KL2
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: UCLA CTSI
Director(s): Mitchell Wong
Contact Name: Lisa Chan
Contact Email: lchan@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-3706
The KL2 Award Program develops leaders in clinical research. Scholars are trained to design and oversee research in multidisciplinary team settings, skills critical to a successful career in translational science, and the overall mission of the NIH.
Candidates are junior faculty, including clinical instructors and assistant professors, from CTSI partner institutions (i.e., Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles Biomedical Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and UCLA). They must possess doctoral-level research or professional degree and the potential to lead multidisciplinary teams. Scholars receive up to five years of support for mentored, multidisciplinary, patient-oriented research and training.
In the first phase of training, scholars learn how to design and conduct clinical research studies as part of a team of scientists encompassing several disciplines. During the second phase of their training, scholars design and conduct clinical research projects under the guidance of mentors who have extensive experience in conducting clinical research. This training grant is unique, as all team members, including nurses, pharmacologists, biostatisticians, and epidemiologists, learn together.
The award is designed to meet an important goal of UCLA CTSI: To provide the next generation of scientists with the training they need to conduct interdisciplinary research that impacts human health.
Code: T90/R90
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Dentistry
Director(s): Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Name: Dr. Hung Ton-That & Dr. David Wong
Contact Email: htonthat@mednet.ucla.edu; dwong@dentistry.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-267-5910; 310- 206-3048
The UCLA T90 training program provides comprehensive research training opportunities and career development plans encompassing 5 training tracks for DDS/PhD, Dentist-PhD, Dentist Postdoctoral, Predoctoral PhD, and Post-PhD Research. In addition, the R90 component offers research training to non-citizen dentist-scientists. Four areas of research emphasis include: (1) Cancer Biology, Oral Cancer & Stem Cells, (2) Craniofacial Biology, Bioengineering & Regenerative Medicine, (3) Microbes – Virulence Mechanism & Advanced Imaging by Cryo-electron Microscopy, and (4) Translational Genetics, Epigenetics, & Genomics..
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Health Services
Director(s): Thomas Rice
Contact Name: Yayoi Roth
Contact Email: ysroth@ph.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-983-1355
The Los Angeles Area Health Services Research Training Program (LAAHSRTP) postdoctoral fellowship is a joint initiative of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, RAND Health, The USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, and the V.A. Los Angeles Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy. It is supported by a T-32 grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The program provides comprehensive training and experience to highly-qualified postdoctoral trainees so that they may effectively engage in and lead research and implementation activities aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of the U.S. health care system.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Radiological Sciences
Director(s): Alex Bui
Contact Name: Isabel Rippy
Contact Email: irippy@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-3534
This T32 is focused on supporting graduate students pursuing medical and imaging informatics research at UCLA. With the now ubiquitous usage of imaging as an in vivo method for objectively documenting and elucidating disease and the human condition, novel research challenges arise in the acquisition, understanding, and usage of imaging and related (clinical) data in realizing new knowledge and improved health outcomes. This training program supports doctoral students from a variety of departments, including Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Studies.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine
Director(s): Dr. Mansoureh Eghbali & Dr. Maxime Cannesson
Contact Name: Dr. Mansoureh Eghbali
Contact Email: meghbali@mednet.ucla.edu; meghbali@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-0345
The main goal of our T32 training program is to provide training and mentoring to anesthesiology residents/fellows/junior faculty early in their careers in basic, translational, and preclinical research in the department. Our T32 research training program has four main research themes: 1) Perioperative Organ Protection, 2) Cardiovascular, 3) Neurosciences and Brain Health, and 4) Biocomputing/Bioengineering and Health Informatics. The department has strong leaders in each of these fields. We have recruited 27 exceptional faculty mentors (13 PhD scientists and 14 physician-scientists) from the Department of Anesthesiology and other departments across UCLA, including the Departments of Medicine, Bioehttps://cmb.mbi.ucla.edu/ngineering, Physiology, Surgery, Pathology, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Computer Science, and Human Genetics. Our faculty have expertise in a wide range of research areas broadly related to the anesthesiology specialty. Eleven of these faculty are from the Department of Anesthesiology.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics
Director(s): Patricia Johnson
Contact Name: Patricia J. Johnson
Contact Email: johnsonp@ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-4870
The UCLA Microbial Pathogenesis Training Grant provides the foundation for an integrated research training program in biochemistry, cell biology & genetics of microbial pathogens and host-pathogen interactions. The program's goal is to train scientists to conduct research in microbial pathogenesis using molecular, cellular, genetic, immunological, genomic and post-genomic approaches. Our training faculty includes 23 preceptors with a broad range of related research interests in the areas of bacteriology, parasitology, virology, and immunology. Faculty preceptors have excellent publication, funding and training records. The program, first funded in 1988 was continually funded for 25 years until 2013. The program is small, with six predoctoral and two postdoctoral funded positions; yet it plays a vital role, not limited to trainees, in educating PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the field of microbial pathogenesis at UCLA. Most of our predoctoral trainees are recruited through the Biosciences Program (BSP) which will provide an excellent pool of ~45 - 55 predoctoral students yearly. In recent years >30% of entering PhD students express interests in microbiology, immunology and host:pathogen interactions.
Our faculty are also highly successful in attracting qualified postdoctoral fellows, having >10 postdoctoral fellows eligible for support in any given year. Trainees are selected for funding on a competitive basis, after a thorough review of their academic and research accomplishments. Progress is reviewed at least twice a year and appointments are renewed yearly with a maximum of three years of support for predoctoral trainees and two years for postdoctoral trainees. The training program requires the completion of coursework focused on microbial pathogenesis, annual presentations of trainee research in symposia attended by all trainees and training preceptors, and participation in a Microbial Pathogenesis seminar series composed of external, preeminent scientists in the field & associated literature discussions.
Trainees also participate in a journal club focused on host:pathogen interactions and newly emerging infectious agents. These journal clubs are jointly facilitated by training preceptors and trainees and serve to broaden trainee education. Participation in a course devoted to ethics and accountability in biomedical research and [a scientific writing course] is also required. [All trainees will be required to develop career objectives guided by "My Individual Development Plan (IDP)".] [Postdoctoral trainees are also required to participate in the PhD Career Training Series and research-related career-focused workshops. Career counseling by the program director and training grant advisory committee is also emphasized.] Annual research presentations at national meetings and UCLA scientific retreats are expected. The focal point of our training program is excellence in research. Several mechanisms are in place to monitor and facilitate trainee progress in research and career development. Our past training efforts have been successful and continued success is anticipated following the plan described in this proposal.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Integrative Biology & Physiology
Director(s): Rachelle Crosbie-Watson & Carrie Miceli
Contact Name: Rachelle Crosbie-Watson
Contact Email: rcrosbie@physci.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-2103
Muscle cell biology is an area of exciting growth in translational medicine. Muscular dystrophies are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of conditions characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. Translational research in muscular dystrophies is expanding, as academic and industry partnerships yield new potential treatments that are currently being assessed in clinics around the world.
The goal of the Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is to capitalize on the momentum that arose from this explosion of translational research. The training program will capitalize on and bridge the talents of muscle cell biologists and translational experts to provide trainees with a broad education based in basic science and exposure to many aspects of disease-related research. The Muscle Cell Biology, Pathophysiology, and Therapeutics program is designed to train the best possible young scientists to lead the muscle biology community in the next phase of discovery and translational muscle science. Trainees conduct research projects under the supervision of primary mentors and participate in the CDMD training activities, including biweekly data meetings, journal clubs, and the annual CDMD scientific retreat.
We encourage the recruitment, retention, and training of scholars who are members of underrepresented groups and diverse specialties and with disabilities. Program co- Directors, Rachelle Crosbie-Watson, Ph.D. and M. Carrie Miceli, Ph.D., can address further questions about the program and applicant qualifications.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Urology
Director(s): Dr. Mark S. Litwin and Dr. Deborah Krakow
Contact Name: Sarah Connor
Contact Email: PCORT@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-794-2513
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Medicine - Infectious Disease
Director(s): Dr. Jesse Lawton Clark & Dr. Pamina M. Gorbach
Contact Name: Stephanie Buchbinder
Contact Email: Sbuchbinder@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-5147
Description
The Division of Infectious Diseases of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is pleased to offer its Postdoctoral Training Program in Biobehavioral Research Training for Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic as a way to prepare physician and social/behavioral scientists for academic research careers focused on integrated biomedical-biobehavioral approaches to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The program is funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) through a T32 mechanism, and supports 2 new fellows each year–one a physician who completed the formal clinical infectious diseases fellowship in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA, and one a social/behavioral scientist or a graduate with a doctoral degree from a relevant professional field (such as psychology, public health, public policy, sociology, anthropology, biological sciences, etc.), as long as the applicant is focused on an academic career in global HIV research.
The fellowship lasts up to 3 years. A successful graduate of the training program will have produced publications/abstracts, obtained career development funding (NIH K award or equivalent), and developed the tools to transition to an independent career as a physician-scientist. Original research is the heart of the fellowship, and our efforts are focused on ensuring that fellows successfully become independently funded investigators.
Trainees will participate in ongoing seminars, peer review, and relevant conferences. Professional development will focus on grant preparation, data analysis, manuscript preparation, presentation and teaching skills, and grant writing.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Roel Ophoff, Carrie Bearden
Contact Name: CNG Training Program
Contact Email: cngT32@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics administers tightly integrated predoctoral and postdoctoral Training Program in Neurobehavioral Genetics. The program emphasizes training in human studies as well as in investigations of a wide range of model organisms and incorporate state-of-the-art approaches to neurobehavioral phenotyping, experimental and quantitative genetic analysis, and genomics.
Through joint funding from NIMH and NINDS, the program supports predoctoral trainees for (2) years and postdoctoral trainees for (1) year. Program activities include but are not limited to research training with a participating UCLA faculty, biweekly seminar series, biweekly journal club, annual retreat, training in quantitative and computational principles under faculty statistician, and training in responsible conduct of research.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Oliver Hankinson
Contact Name: Oliver Hankinson
Contact Email: ohank@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2936
The thirty faculty of our interdepartmental PhD in Molecular Toxicology Program come from sixteen different departments in the School of Medicine, the Fielding School of Public Health, and the College of Letters and Science at UCLA. Members of our faculty also participate in the activities of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the newly established California Nanosystems Institute. Areas of particular strength in our program include chemical carcinogenesis, repair of DNA damage, air pollution toxicology, nanotoxicology, and the environmental causation of Parkinson's disease. The program is supported by a training grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Our program is now in its seventeenth year. Students from our first ten years (2001-2010) have all graduated.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Gay Crooks & Owen Witte
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The overarching goal of the Tumor Cell Biology Training Program (TCB-TP) is to equip the next generation of cancer biologists and clinician-scientists with the tools essential for innovative research. Recent improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer have been driven by the translation of paradigm-shifting basic research into clinical settings. Continued progress toward complete remission or cure of all cancer types will require an intensified effort on multiple fronts. For this to occur, it is essential that the next generation of cancer researchers have the knowledge, analytical tools, and critical thinking skills to integrate diverse fields of biology. In addition, it is imperative that basic science researchers be able to access and integrate the insights being generated by clinical researchers. We undertake this mission using two complementary approaches. The first is to provide comprehensive training in the fundamental and emerging mechanisms of tumor biology and the range of tools available to study these processes. The second is to provide a forum in which basic studies in tumor biology are viewed within the context of their relevance to diagnostics and therapeutics. These objectives are achieved through the participation of trainees and faculty with a diverse range of scientific interests and expertise in both basic and translational research. The training program brings together three pre-doctoral and five post-doctoral trainees, who are supported for at least two years while they conduct mentored research projects. Trainee mentors are drawn from twenty-four Ph.D. and M.D. program faculty members who are affiliated with 12 different UCLA departments, and whose areas of research include cancer-initiating cells, transcriptional regulation, tumor micro-environment, metabolism, computational biology, and cell division. A monthly seminar series brings together trainees and faculty to critically discuss research data presented by each trainee. The program leadership invites at least one translational and/or clinical investigator who has expertise in the topic under discussion and can contribute a clinical perspective to the seminar. One-on-one meetings between program leadership and trainees are designed to provide feedback on seminar content and effectiveness of the presentation, encourage trainees to discuss their progress and plans, and offer trainees an opportunity to express any concerns about their training environment. A written Individual Development Plan is completed annually by trainees and reviewed with the PIs and co-investigator. Courses on ethics and reproducibility in research are mandatory for all trainees. The Tumor Cell Biology Training Program will be jointly directed under the multi-PI mechanism by Dr. Gay M. Crooks and Dr. Owen N. Witte, senior academic leaders at UCLA with well-established programs in basic and translational research. The program enjoys strong campus support from, among others, the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The PIs are assisted by co-investigator John Colicelli, and strategic oversight to the grant is provided by the Internal and External Advisory Committees.
Code: T32
Status: NCTE
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Pathology
Director(s): Michael Teitell
Contact Name: Andrew Aldapa
Contact Email: aaldapa@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-206-1770
The program provides training in all aspects of tumor immunology research. We propose to continue supporting a total of nine trainees (3 predoctoral, 6 postdoctoral) in a highly structured research training environment under the supervision of experienced and highly productive faculty mentors. Over the past 35 years, the UCLA Tumor Immunology Training Program (TITP) has bridged training in the fields of cancer and immunology, and is the sole UCLA training program integrating fundamental laboratory- based immunology with clinical oncology. For many years the TITP has remained vital through the recruitment of new faculty members from different departments into the program. In the next funded period, the focus on tumor immunology training is strengthened by including only topic-related faculty in the program. The TITP has leveraged UCLA's internationally recognized standing as a major center in clinical trials utilizing immunotherapy and genetic immunotherapy against a variety of cancers. Additional training leverage is provided by a top scoring Clinical Science Translational Institute (CTSI), directed by Dr. S Dubinett, who is a co-director of the TITP. The training program has been highly successful in developing new investigators with ~85-90% of trainees continuing research careers in academics or industry. Thus, the TITP continues as a strong complement of basic, translational, and clinical investigations in tumor immunology at UCLA.
A multitude of unique, interactive, and highly integrated activities in tumor immunology serve as an outstanding resource for our trainees. The TITP emphasizes training in the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of tumor cell-host immune interactions. At Pre, Post the predoctoral and postdoctoral levels, the TITP main goals are to: 1) identify and support outstanding trainees with a high level of interest and focus in tumor immunology research, 2) train scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in fundamental and clinical tumor immunology, 3) provide trainees with a solid background in the biological sciences with an emphasis in fundamental immunology, biochemistry, biology, genetics, and now also stem cell biology and nanotechnology, 4) facilitate career development by helping predoctoral trainees choose postdoctoral fellowships and obtain support, and by guiding postdoctoral trainees in obtaining positions in academia and industry, 5) acquaint and support trainees' interdisciplinary action and research opportunities, 6) introduce novel and significant projects for which beneficial outcomes will be derived, 7) acquaint trainees with state-of-the-art research through the training grant-supported fundamental and tumor immunology seminar series and associated journal clubs, and 8) provide trainees with regular opportunities to present their own research in seminar form and receive critical feedback from the training grant faculty and scientific community beyond UCLA by supporting trainee presentations at tumor immunology-related national and international meetings.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Post
Administrative Department: Human Genetics
Director(s): Dr. Julian A. Martinez and Dr. Stanley Nelson
Contact Name: Jerome Keh
Contact Email: jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-4625
Understanding the role genetics plays in both health and disease provides a path to integrating scientific discoveries into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of many diseases, both rare and common. Funded by an NIH NIGMS Postdoctoral T32 Training Grant and jointly directed by Dr. Julian Martinez and Dr. Stanley Nelson, the UCLA Intercampus Medical Genetics T32 Research Training Program seeks applicants with research interests in areas of genomic medicine, including pathophysiology, molecular mechanisms, phenotyping, and therapy for genetic diseases.
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Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Semel Institute
Director(s): Edythe London
Contact Name: William Chu
Contact Email: williamchu@mednet.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-0606
The UCLA Translational Neuroscience of Drug Abuse (TNDA) Program set forth to link several successful UCLA research centers by establishing a unified training program. Each year, applications are accepted for Pre, Post pre- and postdoctoral fellowships (12-month, renewable appointments).
The program is funded by a NIDA T32 Training Grant and provides trainees with the integrative knowledge base needed to conduct bidirectional translational studies including cutting-edge technical laboratory methods, computational approaches in data evaluation, and issues related to ethical treatment of human subjects. TNDA trainees will have a research project in a specific mentor’s laboratory but will gain exposure to other areas of drug abuse research through laboratory rotations, common core training elements as well as by formal and informal interaction among key faculty and TNDA leadership.
Successful researchers must also become adept at identifying sources of research funding and at preparing fundable applications that can further their independent investigation. TNDA trainees will receive didactic training and mentoring in these important areas, with emphasis on skills in scientific writing and presentation to enhance the dissemination of research findings.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
Director(s): Reza Ardehali
Contact Name: Reza Ardehali
Contact Email: vbtp@mbi.ucla.edu
Contact Phone:
The main objective of the Vascular Biology Training Program is to develop the next generation of cardiovascular biologists. The program places a strong emphasis on creativity, networking and self-motivation to develop independent scientists who will make significant contributions to biomedical research and be an asset to the institutions and communities they serve.
To achieve these goals we have developed a strong mentorship approach, novel didactic components and incorporated high exposure to medicine. UCLA houses a tremendous resource of interdisciplinary groups whose research focuses in vascular biology. The group includes 27 laboratories that currently offer training to 124 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. It is this community that constitutes the pillars of a unique training program for the next generation of investigators in this area of research.
The Program is funded by a grant from the NHLBI that supports pre-and post-doctoral trainees for three and two years respectively. The program also features a highly interactive seminar series with outside speakers and several seminar venues for discussion of science by trainees and UCLA investigators. We invite you to drive through the website and get to learn more about our program and recent accomplishments.
Code: T32
Status: Active
Type: Pre, Post
Administrative Department: Jules Stein Eye Institute
Director(s): Alapakkam Sampath
Contact Name: Alappakam Sampath
Contact Email: asampath@jsei.ucla.edu
Contact Phone: 310-825-2024
The Vision Science Training Program (VSTP) has its home in the Jules Stein Eye Institute (JSEI), University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, and has been continuously active for more than 40 years. During this period the VSTP has trained nearly 140 scientists, a large portion who have gone on to distinguished careers in vision science. The Program covers the training of Pre, Post predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows, and takes place in the laboratories of 14 faculty mentors. These vision scientists possess expertise in a wide range of disciplines and hold academic appointments in 13 departments at UCLA. Applicants for predoctoral fellowships first enter UCLA through one of several graduate programs, and they complete the curriculum associated with that program. After a year of rotations they join the laboratory of a VSTP mentor.
Applicants for postdoctoral fellowships apply directly to the VSTP lab of interest. All trainees that are members of VSTP labs are invited to participate in the curricular offerings of this program. These offerings are collectively designed to provide experimental and conceptual training in vision science, as many of the trainees have no prior experience in vision science. All fellows are required to take Fundamentals of Vision Research, a quarter-long course organized and taught by VSTP members. Additionally fellows are integral members of the scientific environment at JSEI through attendance and participation in a number of events, including the weekly Vision Science Seminar Series, the Vision Science Journal Club, and the Annual Vision Science Retreat held in Lake Arrowhead. A particular focus of the VSTP for this grant period is the stronger integration of basic and clinical science. Several offerings will help bridge the gap between these two research focuses by facilitating interactions between the scientists and the clinicians, including the Annual UCLA Stein Eye Clinical and Research Seminar, Translational Grand Rounds, and a Basic-Clinical Science Exchange program. Such experiences will help trainees to place their research into the context of visual health and disease.
A major addition to the VSTP will be a dedicated program focused on the postdoctoral trainees, to support their transition to independent investigators. An NRSA F32 Training Course will be offered to all postdoctoral fellows in VSTP labs to provide formal training in how to craft and submit an effective NIH research proposal. Given the interdisciplinary nature of vision research, the overall goal of the VSTP is to bring together faculty with a wide range of expertise (including anatomy, biochemistry, biophysics, chemistry, molecular biology, physiology, pharmacology, cell biology, and developmental biology) to provide interdisciplinary experimental and conceptual training to predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates seeking to develop careers in vision science. Continued funding of the VSTP will permit the JSEI to carry on its critical mission of training the next generation of first-rate basic and clinical vision scientists.
To report a needed update or change in program type, information, or content please contact Ana Maria Batista, Data Analyst, Graduate Programs in Bioscience, (ABatista@mednet.ucla.edu)