Research

A Culture of Research Excellence in the Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative Medicine at UCLA

The Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative Medicine at UCLA has a vibrant culture of research spanning basic, translational, and clinical disciplines. Our subject matter foci include cardiovascular biology, neuroscience, organ protection, and computational medicine, with scientists investigating critical questions of relevance to the practice of anesthesiology and the effective management of the perioperative patient. We also engage with and contribute to the larger research community at UCLA: the research conducted at the Department is strategically aligned with the research themes and initiatives of the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) and other departments, schools, and centers at UCLA.

Our Division of Molecular Medicine hosts basic and translational scientists conducting research from the scale of single molecules to whole organ physiology in vivo. All of the principal investigators in this robust research environment are funded by the National Institutes of Health (indeed, our Department is consistently among the top NIH-funded anesthesiology departments in the country) and supported by outstanding core facilities, including biochemistry, tissue culture, histology, microscopy, and in vivo imaging. Our faculty are regular speakers at prestigious scientific conferences and publish their work in high impact journals—they hold leadership positions in scientific organizations, are members of leading editorial boards, and are recipients of awards for their research accomplishments. A dedicated team of clinical research staff provides comprehensive support for studies involving patients, ranging from biomarker discovery to industry and government sponsored clinical trials.

The Department is dedicated to providing an outstanding environment for research training. We are proud of our track record of producing basic scientists who have gone on to successful careers in academia (at UCLA and other institutions) as well as in the private sector. In particular, we are committed to providing opportunities, support, and mentorship for clinician-scientists in the discipline of anesthesiology: over the past decade, several clinician-scientists who trained in our Department have gone on to lead their own extramurally-funded research programs, a model we practice currently through cultivation of a trainee pipeline including medical students, resident and fellow physicians, and junior faculty. This commitment has been further bolstered by the recent awarding of an NIH T32 training grant to our Department.

We welcome you to explore this training environment, our individual research laboratories, and the breadth of clinical research studies in the Department of Anesthesiology Perioperative Medicine at UCLA. Please reach out if you are interested to join our team!