The UCLA Department of Family Medicine Research Program has one of the most active family medicine research groups in the country committed to improving the quality of primary care and promoting health in partnership with ethnically diverse communities.

We have a wide array of expertise addressing primary care issues including:

  • Care and prevention of chronic diseases (diabetes, cancer, depression)
  • Mental and behavioral health
  • HIV care and prevention
  • Adolescent and women's health
  • Health and health care for under served and ethnically diverse populations
  • Medical education and its linkage to under served communities
  • Addressing disparities and minority health
  • Communication in health care settings
  • Addiction medicine
  • Behavioral medicine
  • Domestic violence
  • Geriatrics, palliative care and pain management
  • Physician workforce characteristics
  • Documentation and designation of health professional shortage areas

We conduct epidemiological studies, health services research, community based participatory research and clinical trials intended to promote health, increase access and improve quality of care. In addition to producing original research and scholarly work, we train and mentor students, residents, fellows and faculty for academic roles in family medicine.

The Program's research efforts have received major funding from multiple federal and foundation sources, including, but not limited to, the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Mental Health Institute (NMHI), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA), the University wide AIDS Research Program, the County and City of Los Angeles as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). This broad array of funding provides support for a stable line of research to promote health and enhance primary care in ethnically diverse populations.

Our Research Program is housed administratively in the Oppenheimer Tower in over 9,000 square feet of space at 1800 Wilshire Blvd, in Los Angeles. We emphasize a collaborative approach to research, integrating a range of disciplines and areas of expertise in addition to clinical medicine, including psychology, social sciences, epidemiology, qualitative methods, and analysis of large databases. The Program receives guidance from a research advisory group that meets monthly. The Program also has a monthly Research Seminar for faculty/staff development and interactive communication.

The Department's Primary Care/Health Services Research Fellowship has fellows working with faculty in the department or in other departments within the university over a 2 to 3 year period.