CORE Kidney

What We Do

BBHC

Our Mission

The Bruin Beans Health Club (BBHC) aims to create future leaders in healthcare through opportunities in clinical research, health education and outreach, and career development.

Bruin Beans works with members in all aspects of healthcare to properly advance kidney health; in modern medicine the proper treatment of patients and patient populations requires the cooperative work of individuals from varying fields including: dietitians, nurses, physician's assistants, doctors, therapists, public health, and public policy.

Although we focus on kidney health, members are not required to have a specific interest in it. Bruin Beans is a multidisciplinary group that has no restrictions based on major, career interest, or undergraduate year. We welcome (and highly encourage!) people from all backgrounds, both academic and in life, to join us in our mission.

Opportunities 

  1. Observership: BBHC members are able to shadow multiple nephrologists during scheduled patient appointments and observe critical skills needed for proper patient care.
  2. Patient Journeys: BBHC members have the opportunity to interview kidney donors, recipients, or patients to learn about their journeys toward kidney health. They will then work to write up a story that will be featured on our UCLA Health website.
  3. Outreach Events: BBHC members have the opportunity to organize, plan, and promote outreach events such as the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) walks, CORE Kidney’s involvement in the annual Rose Parade, patient summits, and health screenings. Last year, BBHC helped put together the annual CORE Kidney Gala, which raised over $600,000 dollars to support living kidney donors and recipients.
  4. Monthly Chats: On the first of every month, BBHC helps host free CORE Kidney webinars with Dr. Rastogi (and a panel of other health specialists) that provide critical information regarding kidney health.
  5. Patient Experiences: BBHC members have the opportunity to establish long-term connections with patients. Specifics include helping with patient referrals, assisting Nurse Practitioners, and pre-screening patients for clinical interventional trials.
  6. Clinical Research: Each quarter (including the summer), BBHC members are eligible to participate in SRP 99/199. They are able to obtain course units counting towards graduation from individual inquiry projects under the guidance of Dr.Rastogi. Members are able to submit their projects to well-known conferences, potentially receiving publication. Members also have the opportunity to work on patient data registries.
  7. Partnerships: We are proud partners of Kaplan and The Princeton Review where we host quarterly workshops related to Medical School admissions guidance, MCAT Prep, etc. Students also can receive up to a 50% discount on materials.
  8. Work Study: Students eligible for work study will have the opportunity to assist research coordinators with clinical interventional trials developing novel therapeutics for a wide range of kidney diseases.

Career Development

  1. Academic Peer Mentorship
  2. Independent Research Projects
  3. Observership
  4. Guest Lectures with Doctors, Surgeons, Clinical Researchers, Residents, Medical students and Kidney Donors
  5. Workshops on Interview prep, MCAT/ PCAT/ GRE/ CNA prep, CV and Resume building