ADVANCED TRAINING IN CLINICAL INVESTIGATION

UCLA Master of Science in Clinical Research: 2006

The Master of Science in Clinical Research is a new degree program offered by the Dept. of Biomathematics in the School of Medicine. This program is designed to provide rigorous training to physicians and other health professionals, from a variety of clinical disciplines, with the techniques and processes utilized in patient-oriented research. The curriculum provides, through didactic course work and a mentored research thesis, a strong foundation in the computational and statistical sciences, fundamental methods of clinical trials, biomedical ethics, and principles of clinical pharmacology. Trainees who successful complete this program are awarded a Master of Science in Clinical Research degree from UCLA.

The goals of the Master of Science in Clinical Research are to enable fellows and faculty to:

• Design and conduct clinical research (clinical trials and observational studies)
• Successfully compete for funding (e.g. NIH K23 or RO1's in Clinical Research)
• Analyze the data and interpret the results of their research
• Present their research at scientific meetings and in the medical literature
• Critique and interpret the research of others

Eligibility: Requirements for admission include a baccalaureate degree (or its foreign equivalent) plus a professional health degree (i.e. M.D., D.D.S, D.N.Sc. or Ph.D.). Physician candidates should have completed most of their clinical requirements for Board eligibility in their chosen specialty/subspecialty at the time of application. Applicants must have salary and tuition support for the duration of the program and a letter of such commitment from their Division or Dept. must accompany the application.

Application: Required. Applicants can receive an application form by contacting

Nicolle Waldman
Email: startraining@mednet.ucla.edu

Time to Degree: The MS in Clinical Research requires two years for full time trainees. For faculty with clinical duties the time to degree can be extended to three years. Longer extensions require the approval of the Executive Committee. The program starts in with a required Biostatistic course in the first UCLA Summer session (~last week in June).

As of July 2006 there were were 17 faculty and 18 fellows enrolled in the program.

Requirements:

• Master's degree candidates must complete 46 credit units.
• Required courses include:
  1. Introduction to Computer Based Biostatistics #170 (Fall Quarter)
  2. Computer based Biostatistics 2 for Clinical Investigators #171 (Winter Quarter)
  3. Advanced Biostatistics #264 (Spring Quarter)
  4. Data Analysis 1 #265A (Winter Quarter)
  5. Data Analysis 2 #265B (Spring Quarter)
  6. Controversies in Clinical Trials #259 (Winter Quarter)
  7. Methodology in Clinical Research M260 A, B, & C - 3 quarters - (Fall, Winter, and Spring Quarters)
  8. Ethics in Patient-Oriented Research (Fall Quarter)
  9. Clinical Pharmacology (Fall Quarter)
  10. Three elective graduate courses (pre-approval required)
  11. Research thesis with approved Mentor

Process: All applicants must have selected a mentor and outlined a general research project at the time of submission of the formal application. There is a May 1 deadline for an August start date for this degree program. The admission committee meets on a regular basis so that applicants will be notified of their status within a month of filing a completed application.

Degree granted: Yes. The degree is a UCLA Master of Science.

Advising: In addition to a research mentor trainees are assigned a quantitative mentor from a multidisciplinary group of faculty with expertise in biostatistics.

Program Directors:

Joy S Frank, Ph.D.
Robert Elashoff, Ph.D.