Research Program

An active research experience is part of the training and each Pediatric Rheumatology fellow will meet with faculty mentors to prepare a research project. In the first year of training, fellows are exposed to research opportunities at UCLA especially within Adult and Pediatric Rheumatology, Immunology, and Bioinformatics.  Potential projects
include: clinical trials, health services and quality of life research, translational research, and basic bench research in genetics, molecular biology, and immunology. 

During the first year and early second year of training, the fellow will identify a project, write a grant or proposal, and form a Scholarship Oversight Committee for a project in:

•  Clinical research that can include a clinical study, description of a new syndrome, or a scholarly review of literature on a rheumatologic topic (metanalysis preferred)
•  A project in health services that can include studies of educational methods, of methods of health care delivery, of health care costs, or of quality of  life issues
•  Bench research on autoimmunity, inflammation and immune dysregulation including genetics, and molecular biology/immunology.

In the second and third year, the fellows will have a 75-80% time for a research project. Fellows are expected to
complete a sufficient amount of their project by the end of the 2nd year so that they can present an abstract at a
regional or national meeting.  They are encouraged to write a manuscript for a peer-reviewed journal at the completion of the third year of training.