General Surgery Residency

Resident Research and Academic Development Funding Policy

UCLA Department of Surgery Resident Research and Academic Development Funding Policy

The UCLA Department of Surgery (DOS) views scholarly activity as an essential component of surgical residency training. Residents are encouraged to pursue structured academic development experiences that align with their career goals and advance surgical science, education, innovation, and patient care.

Residents may participate in up to two years of protected academic development time following completion of the PGY-2 or PGY-3 clinical year, subject to approval by the Program Director and Department leadership. Additional time will require approval from DOS Research Committee.

Guiding Principles

Advancing the field of surgery through research, education, innovation, and scholarship is a core mission of the Department of Surgery. Dedicated academic development time provides residents with the opportunity to acquire investigative and scholarly skills that support future academic and professional success.

Residents may pursue scholarly training in a variety of areas, including:

  • Basic and translational science
  • Clinical and health services research
  • Surgical education
  • Innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Global health and global surgery

Research activities are encouraged within the UCLA Department of Surgery. Scholarly training outside the Department or at external institutions may be considered with approval of the DOS Research Committee.

Preparation and submission of competitive funding applications are considered important components of academic development. Residents are expected to pursue funding opportunities appropriate to their field of scholarship, with the goal of developing skills in grant writing, project development, and research program leadership.

Departmental resources supporting resident scholarly activity are finite and allocated annually based on available resources and program priorities.

Funding Expectations

Resident Responsibilities

Residents are expected to actively pursue external funding to support salary, benefits, tuition, and research-related expenses during their academic development years. Residents must:

  • Apply for the Levey Award
  • Apply for the HH Lee Award
  • Apply for an Institutional T32
  • Apply for an NIH F32
  • Apply for the Department of Surgery Intramural Surgical Training Grant in the spring of your second or third year of residency, before starting your research time.
  • Apply for the Department of Surgery Joann Barr Memorial Liver Transplantation Grant (if interested in Liver Transplant).
  • Prepare and submit at least one major national association, foundation, other NIH funding application appropriate to their area of scholarship.
  • Pursuing additional funding opportunities (foundations, professional societies and organizations or other institutional grants) in consultation with their mentor and research leadership.
  • Continue pursuing funding if initial applications are unsuccessful.
  • Work closely with mentors and departmental research administration throughout the application process.
  • Submit all applications through appropriate UCLA administrative channels.

Grant preparation and funding acquisition are shared responsibilities of the resident and faculty mentor and are considered integral components of academic development.

Mentor's Responsibilities

Mentors are responsible for covering their mentees' salaries and benefits. For residents who do not secure full extramural funding, the mentor is responsible for the trainee's unfunded salary and benefit costs.

Tuition Support

Tuition support for degree-granting programs is not guaranteed.

Requests for partial tuition support may be submitted to the DOS Research Committee and will be considered based on:

  • Educational value of the program
  • Alignment with career goals
  • Availability of alternative funding sources
  • Departmental financial resources

Expectations During Academic Development

All research residents are expected to:

  • Meet regularly with their primary mentor at least once a week.
  • Maintain satisfactory academic and scholarly progress.
  • Provide biannual updates through Qualtrics. This report will be submitted to the DOS Research Committee biannually.
  • Notify the Department of significant changes in funding, mentorship, or research plans.
  • Participate in departmental academic activities as appropriate.

Participation in academic development programs, protected research time, and receipt of departmental support are contingent upon continued departmental approval, satisfactory progress, departmental operational needs, and the availability of funding and institutional resources. The department reserves the right to modify or discontinue these arrangements as circumstances warrant.

The UCLA Department of Surgery is committed to supporting resident academic development and fostering the next generation of surgical scientists, educators, innovators, and leaders.

DOS Research Committee

  • Joe Hines, MD (Department of Surgery Chair)
  • Areti Tillou, MD (Vice Chair for Surgical Education)
  • Gerry Lipshutz, MD (Vice Chair for Research)

Residency Program Directors

  • Jane Yanagawa, MD (General Surgery)
  • David Rigberg, MD (Vascular Surgery)
  • George Rudkin, MD (Plastic Surgery)
  • Richard Shemin, MD (Thoracic Surgery)
  • Ming Si, MD (Congenital Cardiac Surgery)
  • Catherine Juillard, MD (Surgical Critical Care)

Revised: 7/24/2026