Certificate Program

Certificate Program requirements:

• Complete four required courses
• Complete two electives
• Attend Monthly Meetings until program completion and participate in required presentations

Fees: Certificate fellows audit courses and seminars. The audit option requires no fees, and no graduate credit is given. UCLA graduate courses may be taken for credit by registering and paying fees through UCLA Extension.

Location: All courses are held at UCLA but are available via Zoom for our partner sites. In addition, individuals may satisfy some program requirements by taking compatible courses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CS) or Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (HU).

Certificate fellows are required to complete four courses and two electives from the list below over two years. All courses are held at UCLA but are available via Zoom for our partner sites. In addition, individuals may satisfy some program requirements by taking compatible courses at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CS) or Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (HU).

Attendance in each class must not fall below 75-80%, depending on the class. Completing homework for grading is required for Biomath 170A and 266A, and passing a final take-home exam for a certificate of completion is required for Biomath M261.

Please see the UCLA Schedule of Classes for dates, times and locations of courses.

Required Coursework

Two statistics courses:

• Biomath 170A. Introductory Biomathematics for Medical Investigators (also CS)
• Biomath 266A. Applied Regression Analysis in Medical Sciences

Two additional courses:

• Biomath 259. Controversies in Clinical Trials
• Biomath M261. Responsible Conduct of Research Involving Humans (also CS)

Two of the following electives:

• Biomath 264. Applied Data Collection and Analysis
• Biomath 265A. Data Analysis Strategies (JMP)
• Biomath 266B. Advanced Biostatistics
• Biomath 285. Introduction to High-throughput Data Analysis
• Biomath M260A. Methodology in Clinical Research: Clinical Trials
• Biomath M260B. Methodology in Clinical Research: Longitudinal & Community Studies
• Biomath M260C. Methodology in Clinical Research: Observational Studies
• Biomath M262. Communication of Science: Grant/Journal Writing
• Biostat 410. Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials

Sample Coursework Schedule

View Timeline for the TPTS Certificate Program (PDF) (subject to change).

Course Descriptions

View all the TPTS course descriptions.

Certificate fellows are required to attend monthly meetings until program completion and participate in a Research Interest presentation. The meetings are designed to give trainees and opportunity to present their research in an open yet structured format during which they receive feedback from their peers, the Program Director, and faculty.

Trainees are also encouraged to discuss challenges in their research or professional development at these meetings, soliciting input from fellow trainees and faculty. These can include disagreements with collaborators or mentors, concerns regarding career trajectory, an ethical dilemma, preventing over-committal to multiple projects, addressing critical reviews of a grant or manuscript, challenges encountered with gaps in training, difficulty with research budgets/funding, etc.

 

This presentation must be done during the trainee’s first year. It is an opportunity to introduce yourself and give a brief overview of your work and research proposal submitted with your Certificate Training Program application. You are strongly encouraged to invite your research mentor(s) to attend the presentation. Other senior researchers in your area of study may be invited to attend at the discretion of Isidro Salusky, MD, Program Director.

Presentation Timing: 20 minutes total. 15-minute talk, 5-minute Q&A.

The Training Program in Translational Science Certificate trainee list is being updated.

(by year training was completed)

2016

Naser Ahmadi, MD Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA WLA-VA General Medicine/Cardiology

Zaid Chaudhry MD UCLA/Olive View / Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery

Seth Cohen MD UCLA / Urology

Dennis Montoya PhD UCLA/Molecular, Cell & Development Biology

My-Linh Nguyen MD UCLA / Obstetrics & Gynecology

2015

Jenny Dai-Ju MD PhD Harbor-UCLA/Endocrinology

Luu Doan Ireland MD MPH  UCLA/Family Planning

Bob Geng MD MA  UCLA/Allergy & Immunology

David Gordon  Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science

Tamara Grisales MD  UCLA/Obstetrics & Gynecology

Ivet Hartonian MD  UCLA/Pediatric Neurology

Kattayoun Kordy MD  UCLA/Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

Rajan Kulkarni MD PhD  UCLA/Dermatology

Sonya Pritzker PhD MA MS  UCLA General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research

Kumar C Shah BDS MS FACP  UCLA School of Dentistry

Nelly Tan MD, UCLA/Radiology

Peter Tieh MD  Harbor-UCLA/Pediatric Endocrinology

Maida Wong MD   UCLA Rheumatology

2014

Joshua G. Cohen MD UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/Oncology

Satiro De Oliveira MD UCLA Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Mary T. Jenkins Vogel MD  Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/Gynecologic Oncology

Caron Kim MD MSc  UCLA/Obstetrics & Gynecology

Veronica Sullins MD  Harbor-UCLA Surgery

Eric Yen MD  UCLA Rheumatology/Pediatrics

2013

Kelly Callahan, MD Harbor-UCLA/Pediatrics

Marissa Caudill, MD PhD UCLA, Child Psychiatry

Fnu Deepinder, MD Cedars Sinai—WLA-VA Endocrinology

Catherine DeRidder, MD Harbor-UCLA/Pediatrics/Child Abuse

Elena Diaz MD  Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/Gynecologic Oncology

Andrew Dorsch, MD UCLA/Neurology

Joshua Grill, PhD UCLA Director, Katherine and Benjamin Kagan Alzheimer's Disease Treatment Development Program
Director, Recruitment and Education Core Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer's Disease Research

Jane Kuo, MD Cedars-Sinai/Medical Genetics

Dong Li, MD PhD Harbor-UCLA/Genetic Epidemiology

Geoffry Sonn MD  UCLA/Urology

Neha Vaghasia, MD UCLA/Pediatrics-Hematology & Oncology

2012

Ali Alktaifi, MD UCLA Department of Surgery

Rebecca Hicks, MD Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA Pediatric Endocrinology

Bahram Khazai, MD  Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA Internal Medicine/Endocrinology

Christina Lam, MD UCLA/Pediatrics and Medical Genetics

Frank Shih-Chang Ong, MD Cedars Sinai Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

Lisa Rogo-Gupta, MD  UCLA/Femal Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery

Anita Rowhani Sicolo, MD  UCLA Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellow

Prasanth N. Surampudi, MD  Harbor UCLA T32 Endocrinology Fellow

2011

Sigrid Burruss, MD UCLA Department/General Surgery

William A. Freije, MD, PhD UCLA Department of OB &GYN

Michelle Gardner, PhD MS UCLA Department of Orthopedic Surgery

Jethro L. Hu, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Neuro-Oncology

Niloufar Ilani, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Endocrinology

Po H. Lu, PsyD UCLA Department of Neurology

James A. McKinnell, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Infectious Diseases

Denise D. Nicholson, AuD UCLA Audiology Clinic

David E. Piccioni, MD, PhD UCLA Department of Neurology

Laura Wozniak, MD UCLA Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology/Nutrition

2010

Z. Chad Baxter, MD UCLA Pelvic Medicine/Urology

Agnes Huang Chen, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Pediatrics and Neurology

Daniel DeUgarte, MD UCLA Pediatrics/Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery

Noah Federman, MD UCLA Pediatric/Hematology-Oncology

Alan Ikeda, MD UCLA Pediatric/ Hematology-Oncology

Larissa Mooney, MD UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior/Integrated Substance Abuse

Mary Elizabeth Patterson, MD Harbor-UCLA Endocrinolog

Thomas Thannickal, PhD UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

2009

Farin Amersi, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology

David Andorsky, MD UCLA Medicine, Division of Hematology & Oncology

Alice Chang, MD UCLA Pediatric Rheumatology

David Chim, DO UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior/Integrated Substance Abuse

Sherilyn Gordon Burroughs, MD UCLA Division of Liver and Pancreas Transplantation, Department of Surgery

Phuong Thao Hoang, MD David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology

Mariko Ishimori, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Medicine, Division of Rheumatology

Philip Liu, PhD UCLA Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics

Daniel Margolis, MD UCLA Radiological Sciences

Rodney McKeever, MD, FCCP King/Drew Medical Center Critical Care Medicine, Transfusion Medicine

Jennifer Yee, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Pediatric Endocrinology

2008

Marc Brodksy, MD, MBA UCLA Center for East-West Medicine

John David Carmichael, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Yoon-Hee Cha, MD UCLA Department of Neurology

Dinesh Chhetri, MD UCLA Department of Surgery/Otolaryngology

Lorraine Evangelista, PhD, RN UCLA School of Nursing

James Farrell, MD UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases

Karen Hamill, DPT UCLA Rehabilitation Services

Joseph L. Lasky, III, MD UCLA Pediatric Neuro-oncology

Nerses Sanossian, MD Keck School of Medicine at USC Department of Neurology

Anil Sharma, MD, MBA UCLA Semel Institure for Neuroscience & Human Behavior

Stephen B. Shew, MD UCLA Surg-Ped

Brian Shuch, MD UCLA Urology

Malcolm Taw, MD UCLA Center for East-West Medicine

Raymond Wang, MD Children's Hospital of Orange County Biochemical Genetics

Katherine Wesseling, MD UCLA Department of Pediatric Nephrology

2007

Ana Isabel Alvarez-Retuerto, PhD UCLA Department of Psychiatry

Mitali Wadekar, MD UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute (NPI)

2006

Eric Crombez, MD UCLA Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics

Sarah E. Evans, PhD UCLA Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Behavior

Cynthia Hall, MD, FACOG UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Obstetrics and Gynecology/Urogynecology and Pelvic Reconstructive Surgery

Isett Laux, PhD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Prostate Cancer Center

Joann Lin, MD UCLA Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology

Michael Milane, MD, MPH UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior

Phioanh Nghiemphu, MD UCLA Department of Neurology

Raquel Soto, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Department of Family Medicine/Health Education Center

Preethi Srikanthan, MD UCLA Division of Clinical Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine

2005

Odelia Cooper, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Jonathan Cotliar, MD UCLA Division of Dermatology

Deborah Flores, MD Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavorial Sciences

Jordan Geller, MD Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Division of Endocrinology

Carla Janzen, MD, PhD UCLA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

John Lam, MD UCLA Department of Urology

Halleh Mir, MD UCLA Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology

Pornpimol Rianthavorn, MD

Noriko Salamon, MD, PhD UCLA Department of Radiology

Rosa Solorio, MD, MPH UCLA Department of Family Medicine

Bulent Yildiz, MD

David Ziring, MD UCLA Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology

2004

Heather Cahan, MD Private Pediatrics/Neonatology

2003

Barbara Gitlitz, MD USC Clinical Medicine/Lung, Head and Neck Program

To be eligible, applicants must have:

• A high commitment to clinical research
• An MD, DDS, DMD, DO, DC, OD, or ND (Doctor of Naturopathy) degree; or be a doctorally prepared nurse; or have a PhD with clinical responsibilities)
• An affiliation with UCLA, Lundquist-Harbor, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center or Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (the CTSI partner institutions).

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Certificate Program Application

Deadline: Applications are accepted Feb 1 to May 15 (extended through June 15) for the academic year beginning August 1. Additional time can be given on a case-by-case basis.

• The application link will be located here following system updating.

Required Application Form Materials:

Applicants must attach the following materials to the form in .doc or .pdf format:

• CV or resume (no more than three pages)
• A brief (one-page) personal statement explaining your interest in the Certificate Program
• A Research Proposal, including research mentor's name and department affiliation. The proposal should provide a fairly detailed description of your research topic, setting out central issues and questions you intend to address and the methodology and organization you’re choosing.

Required Letters of Recommendation:

Applicants must also submit the following two letters of recommendation, on letterhead and including signature. One letter must include a statement from the applicant's department head or supervisor that confirms that the applicant will be given secure protected time to complete the two-year certificate program curriculum.)

• A letter from the applicant's department chair/chief or immediate supervisor
• A letter from the applicant's mentor(s)

Letter of Recommendation Submission:

E-mail to the Program Coordinator at training@ctsi.ucla.edu