Most categorical general surgery residents have their 2-3 years of research and professional development time funded by internal and external grants. However, if a resident is unable to acquire funding for their research endeavors, the UCLA Department of Surgery guarantees funding for the two research years.
One categorical resident per class receives the Gerald S. Levey Surgical Research Award, described in more detail below. Recently, at least one resident per class has received funding through the UCLA H. and H. Lee Surgical Research Scholars Program, the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases NIH T32 Training Grant, or the National Clinical Scholars Program (NCSP) at UCLA. Additionally, roughly one resident per class has elected to take a third year of research time to receive a Ph.D. through the UCLA STAR program. Additional internal and external funding opportunities used by recent general surgery residents are listed below.
Nikhil Chervu, MD was the recipient of the Levey Award at the 2021 UCLA general surgery graduation
The process of applying for research year funding begins with an application for the Gerald S. Levey Surgical Research Award, named after Dr. Gerald Levey, who served as the vice chancellor of medical sciences and dean of DGSOM at UCLA from 1994-2010. Since most junior residents have limited experience applying for grant funding, the Levey Award application is a mechanism our program developed to formalize the process of junior residents working with a faculty research mentor to develop a research proposal and write an NIH-style grant application. Early during intern year, residents identify and begin working with a UCLA surgery faculty member to develop their grant application, which is due toward the end of intern year. The recipient of the Gerald S. Levey Surgical Research Award is announced at the UCLA general surgery graduation in June. Those who are not selected to receive the award are able to repurpose their application to apply for other grants before their research years start.
Current and recent general surgery research residents have received partial or full funding through the grants and training programs listed below (last updated October 2021).
Chris Childers, MD PhD and family after graduating with his PhD through the STAR program
