Research Fellowships

Advanced Research Fellowship Opportunities

For fellows interested in pursuing a research career, there are multiple research training opportunities including a 2-year advanced fellowship through the VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics program, a 2-year advanced fellowship through a NIH-funded NRSA T32 primary care fellowship that can lead to a Master's degree, or a 3-4 year advanced fellowship through the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program leading to a PhD.

These research fellowships provide the opportunity to spend protected time learning proper research methods by taking full advantage of the expertise and resources of the Graduate Schools at UCLA as well as our renowned UCLA Geriatric Medicine research faculty. These research fellowships begin after completion of the one-year clinical fellowship.

VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics

The VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics provides 2 years of support for fellows to pursue interests in research after their clinical fellowship training year. The fellowship accepts 1-2 new fellows each year and requires that the fellow have a research mentor and research plan but gives fellows and their mentors broad flexibility in the design of the plans. Interested fellows are assisted in finding a research mentor during their clinical fellowship year. Recent fellows have engaged in research in the following areas: Geriatric Oncology, Disparities in Health in Minority Populations, and Utility of Medicare Quality Improvement Measures in Improving Health Care Outcomes. Fellows also serve as attendings on our VA inpatient Acute Geriatrics Team for 4 weeks a year to sharpen their skills in leading an interdisciplinary Geriatrics team.

Applicants interested in the Fellowship should feel free to contact Dr. Homero del Pino at [email protected] to explore this opportunity. Applications will be considered beginning in the fall of the year preceding the Research Fellowship.

National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP)

The National Clinician Scholars Program offers unique clinical and community-based research training through intensive mentorship for clinicians as change agents driving policy-relevant research and partnerships to improve health and healthcare. Join us in cultivating health equity, eliminating health disparities, inventing new models of care, and achieving higher quality health care at lower cost by training nurse and physician researchers who will work as leaders and collaborators embedded in communities, health care systems, government, foundations, and think tanks in the U.S. and around the world.

Learn more about the National Clinician Scholars Program

Daniel Stokes, MD, MS

Dr. Stokes is graduating from the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship soon and will participate in the National Clinician Scholars Program in the next academic year.

VA Advanced Fellowship in Health Services Research

This fellowship, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations, began at the VA Greater Los Angeles (GLA) in 1990. The program aims to develop the competencies needed to apply health services and implementation science to support learning health systems. The Advanced Fellowship has grown since its inception and is now open to post-residency physicians, post-doctoral nurses, psychologists and other post-doctoral health professionals and social scientists. Applicants must be US citizens.

Learn more about VA Advanced Fellowship in Health Services Research.

Women’s Health Fellowship

This fellowship, funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations, is open to primary care physicians, obstetricians and gynecologists, psychologists and other clinicians who are interested in research in women’s health. Fellows in this program also develop competencies in clinical care for women, including performance of minor gynecologic procedures, through the VA Women’s Health Center program.

Learn More about Women's Health Fellowship.

Meet Current or Graduated Advanced Fellows

Minori Ohashi, MD

Dr. Ohashi is a STAR fellow at UCLA. Her biomedical research focuses on aging, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. As a physician scientist, she will receive post-doctoral research training and pursue a career in academic medicine and stem cell research.

David Lee, MD

Dr. Lee was a NRSA and STAR Fellow at UCLA that graduated in 2025. His research focuses on complexities of care among vulnerable populations including frail older adults and persons living with dementia. He received a PhD from the School of Public Health with a focus on Organizational Behavior and Implementation Science. He is now on faculty at UCLA continuing his research career.

Anahid A. Hamparsumian, MD

Dr. Hamparsumian was an advanced fellow in the VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics program. Her research, in collaboration with the UCLA Center for SMART Health, focused on geriatric oncology and participation of older adults in clinical research studies using digital health technology for remote patient monitoring. Additionally, she completed the Masters of Science in Clinical Research program at UCLA. She is now an oncology fellow at Duke University School of Medicine.

Justin Cheng, MD

Dr. Cheng completed the VA Advanced Fellowship in Geriatrics after his clinical geriatrics fellowship at UCLA. His research, in collaboration with the UCLA Center for SMART Health and Hematology/Oncology, focuses on geriatric oncology and using digital tools to monitor gait and fall risk in older cancer patients. He also completed a Master of Science in Clinical Research at UCLA and is now an oncology fellow at the University of Michigan.

Deborah Oyeyemi Walton, MD

Dr. Walton participated in the National Clinician Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCLA. She investigated how contextual factors like race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status intersect with dementia outcomes. Her research also focused on strategies for increasing representation of ethnoracially diverse older adults and caregivers in clinical research. She received her Master's of Science in Health Policy and Management from the School of Public Health. She started her clinical geriatrics fellowship at UCLA in the summer of 2025 and plans to continue her research.