UC San Diego School of Medicine
Encyclopedia
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is a medical school
located in La Jolla, California, USA
.
The school held its first class in 1968 and conferred its first degrees in 1972. The school aggressively recruited leading physician scientists of its era and rapidly gained a reputation as an elite medical school. The inaugural class in 1971 achieved the highest score in the country on the National Board of Medical Examiners Step 1 Examination, propelling the young School into the national spotlight.
UCSD School of Medicine was ranked 15th in the 2009 edition of U.S. News and World Report for research. UCSD School of Medicine was ranked 35th in primary care. UCSD School of Medicine is ranked 5th in the nation among public medical schools by U.S. News and World Report – the youngest school among the top 5 public schools.
UCSD School of Medicine faculty rank #1 in the nation in federal research funding per faculty member (#1 in clinical research and #3 in basic research). Among ranked departments, UCSD is #1 in Family Medicine, Neurosciences, Surgery, and #2 in Anesthesiology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Psychiatry. UCSD School of Medicine is 15th in the nation in total NIH funding with 7 departments in the top 10 when ranked against peer departments.
UCSD 4th in the world in terms of 'citation impact' in the fields of science and social science, with world wide notable faculty. In individual categories, ISI ranks the School of Medicine 2nd in clinical medicine, 3rd in pharmacology, 4th in molecular biology and genetics, and 10th in psychology and psychiatry.
UCSD has been home to eight Nobel laureates in Medicine, more than UCSF (4), UCLA (1), and Stanford (1) combined.
Other notable faculty include:
Year Two
The Independent Study Project (ISP) has long been a cornerstone of the elective curriculum at the UCSD School of Medicine. Students are required to complete a project under the direction of an ISP committee usually consisting of three or more School of Medicine faculty.
, in partnership with the community, provides accessible, quality health care for the underserved in respectful environments, in which students, health professionals, patients and community members learn from each other. It seeks to sustain health through: free medical and preventive care, health education and access to social service.
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
located in La Jolla, California, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The school held its first class in 1968 and conferred its first degrees in 1972. The school aggressively recruited leading physician scientists of its era and rapidly gained a reputation as an elite medical school. The inaugural class in 1971 achieved the highest score in the country on the National Board of Medical Examiners Step 1 Examination, propelling the young School into the national spotlight.
UCSD School of Medicine was ranked 15th in the 2009 edition of U.S. News and World Report for research. UCSD School of Medicine was ranked 35th in primary care. UCSD School of Medicine is ranked 5th in the nation among public medical schools by U.S. News and World Report – the youngest school among the top 5 public schools.
UCSD School of Medicine faculty rank #1 in the nation in federal research funding per faculty member (#1 in clinical research and #3 in basic research). Among ranked departments, UCSD is #1 in Family Medicine, Neurosciences, Surgery, and #2 in Anesthesiology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Psychiatry. UCSD School of Medicine is 15th in the nation in total NIH funding with 7 departments in the top 10 when ranked against peer departments.
UCSD 4th in the world in terms of 'citation impact' in the fields of science and social science, with world wide notable faculty. In individual categories, ISI ranks the School of Medicine 2nd in clinical medicine, 3rd in pharmacology, 4th in molecular biology and genetics, and 10th in psychology and psychiatry.
UCSD has been home to eight Nobel laureates in Medicine, more than UCSF (4), UCLA (1), and Stanford (1) combined.
Notable alumni
- Jerome Hoffman (M.D. 1974) is Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at UCLA Medical Center
- Edward TobinickEdward TobinickEdward Lewis Tobinick is an American physician currently in full-time private practice in Los Angeles, California and he is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr...
(M.D. 1977) patented a use of subcutaneous TNF-α to treat intractable back pain. - Brian DrukerBrian DrukerBrian J. Druker is a physician-scientist at the Oregon Health & Science University. He is the director of OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research, and professor of medicine...
(M.D. 1981) discovered the drug imatinibImatinibImatinib is a drug used to treat certain types of cancer. It is currently marketed by Novartis as Gleevec or Glivec as its mesylate salt, imatinib mesilate . It is used in treating chronic myelogenous leukemia , gastrointestinal stromal tumors and some other diseases...
(Gleevec) for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemiaChronic myelogenous leukemiaChronic myelogenous leukemia , also known as chronic granulocytic leukemia , is a cancer of the white blood cells. It is a form of leukemia characterized by the increased and unregulated growth of predominantly myeloid cells in the bone marrow and the accumulation of these cells in the blood...
. - Khaled HosseiniKhaled HosseiniKhaled Hosseini , is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician of ethnic Tajik origin. He is a citizen of the United States where he has lived since he was fifteen years old. His 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide....
(M.D. 1993) is an American novelist and physician.
Notable faculty
Eight Nobel Laureates in Medicine:- Francis CrickFrancis CrickFrancis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
(1962) - J.W. Kieckhefer Distinguished Research Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Robert W. HolleyRobert W. HolleyRobert William Holley was an American biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968 for describing the structure of alanine transfer RNA, linking DNA and protein synthesis.Holley was born in Urbana, Illinois, and graduated from Urbana High School in 1938...
(1968) - Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies - George Palade (1974) - Dean of the School of Medicine
- Renato DulbeccoRenato DulbeccoRenato Dulbecco is an Italian virologist who won a 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on reverse transcriptase. In 1973 he was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University together with Theodore Puck and Harry Eagle. Dulbecco was the recipient of the Selman A...
(1975) - Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology - Roger GuilleminRoger GuilleminRoger Charles Louis Guillemin received the National Medal of Science in 1976, and the Nobel prize for medicine in 1977 for his work on neurohormones, sharing the prize that year with Andrew Schally and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow.Completing his undergraduate work at the University of Burgundy, Guillemin...
(1977) - Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Sydney BrennerSydney BrennerSydney Brenner, CH FRS is a South African biologist and a 2002 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate, shared with H...
(2002) - Adjunct Professor, Department of Biological Sciences - Roger Tsien (2008) - Professor, Department of Pharmacology
- Bruce Beutler (2011) - Professor, Scripps Research Institute
Other notable faculty include:
- Dr. David Brenner - Current Dean of the School
- William NyhanWilliam NyhanDr. William Leo Nyhan, MD PhD is currently Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, CA. He has also held positions at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine...
- Pediatrician who first described what is now called the Lesch-Nyhan syndromeLesch-Nyhan syndromeLesch–Nyhan syndrome , also known as Nyhan's syndrome, Kelley-Seegmiller syndrome and Juvenile gout, is a rare inherited disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase , produced by mutations in the HPRT gene located on X chromosome. LNS affects about...
Preclinical core courses
Year One- Year-Long: Practice of Medicine, Problem Based Learning, Ambulatory Care Apprenticeship
- Fall Quarter: Foundations, Cardiovascular System, Pulmonary System, Gastrointestinal System
- Winter Quarter: Renal System, Musculoskeletal System, Mind Brain and Behavior
- Spring: Hematology, Endocrinology Reproduction and Metabolism, Immunology, Microbiology
Year Two
- Year-Long: Practice of Medicine, Problem Based Learning, Ambulatory Care Apprenticeship
- Fall: TBD in new curriculum
- Winter: TBD in new curriculum
- Spring: (begin clinical rotations)
The Independent Study Project (ISP) has long been a cornerstone of the elective curriculum at the UCSD School of Medicine. Students are required to complete a project under the direction of an ISP committee usually consisting of three or more School of Medicine faculty.
Community affiliations
UCSD School of Medicine is affiliated with:- Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
- Salk Institute for Biological StudiesSalk Institute for Biological StudiesThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...
- University of California, San Diego Medical Center
- VA San Diego Healthcare System
- Scripps Institution of OceanographyScripps Institution of OceanographyScripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and earth science research, graduate training, and public service in the world...
- San Diego Supercomputer CenterSan Diego Supercomputer CenterThe San Diego Supercomputer Center is an organized research unit of the University of California, San Diego . Physically, SDSC is located on the east end of Eleanor Roosevelt College on the campus of UCSD....
- The Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
- Rady Children's HospitalRady Children's HospitalRady Children's Hospital-San Diego, the largest children's hospital in California, is a 442-bed pediatric care facility providing the largest source of comprehensive pediatric medical services in San Diego, southern Riverside and Imperial counties...
- Bob Wilson Naval HospitalBob Wilson Naval HospitalNaval Medical Center San Diego , also known as Bob Wilson Naval Hospital and informally referred to as "Balboa Hospital", is a technologically advanced Navy medical treatment facility. Located within the grounds of Balboa Park in San Diego, the hospital has played a role in the history of San...
- St. Vincent de Paul Village
Medical student services and programs
- Healthy Student Program
- Office of Educational Support Services
- Careers in Medicine Program
- Advising and Mentoring: Faculty Mentor, Office of Student Affairs Advisor, Big Sib, Senior Mentor, Senior Faculty Advisor
Teaching hospitals
Primary teaching hospitals affiliated with this medical school where clinical teaching or training is carried out: Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego Naval Regional Medical Center, San Diego VA Medical Center, Scripps Mercy Hospital, UCSD Medical Center.Residency program admissions
Most popular residency and specialty programs from the 2005 and 2006 graduating classes: anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, pediatrics, psychiatry, radiology, surgery.Medical student organizations
- Al-Tabib - 'The Physician'
- American College of Physicians
- American Geriatrics Society
- American Medical Association & California Medical Association (AMA&CMA)
- American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
- American Medical Women's Association (AMWA)
- Amnesty International
- Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association (APAMSA)
- Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF)
- Diversity Coalition
- Doctors Ought to Care (D.O.C.)
- Emergency Medicine Student Interest Group
- Family Medicine Interest Group
- Four String Society
- Free Clinic
- Global Medicine Interest Group
- Healthy Student Program
- Holistic & Integrative Medicine (HI-Med)
- Internal Medicine Interest Group
- Iranian Medical Students Association (IMSA)
- Korean American Medical Student Association
- Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)
- Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Allies in Medicine
- Medical Students for Choice (MSFC)
- OB/GYN Interest Group
- Oncology Interest Group
- Peer Mentors
- Phi Delta Epsilon
- Procedures Interests Group Psychiatry Interest Group
- South Asian Medical Student Association
- Stress Relief Valve (SRV Med)
- Students Interest Group in Neurology
- Students Interested in Pediatrics (SIP)
- Student National Medical
- Surgery Interest Group
- The Human Condition
UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project
The UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic ProjectUCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project
The UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project is a non-profit, free clinic that maintains three community locations and is headquartered at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California...
, in partnership with the community, provides accessible, quality health care for the underserved in respectful environments, in which students, health professionals, patients and community members learn from each other. It seeks to sustain health through: free medical and preventive care, health education and access to social service.
Graduate & dual degree programs
- Medical Scientist Training ProgramMedical Scientist Training ProgramMedical Scientist Training Programs are combined M.D. and Ph.D. graduate degree programs offered by a small number of United States medical schools with financial support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences , in recognition of the increasing need for scientists to bridge the...
(M.D./Ph.D. Program) - Medical Scholars Program (8-year Baccalaureate/M.D. Program)
- Masters in Bioengineering
- Masters in Public Health
- Masters in Leadership of Health Care Organizations
- Masters of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research
- Ph.D. Program in the Humanities and Social Sciences
- Independent Ph.D. programs