Urology

Program Details

The UCLA Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Training in Urologic and Gynecologic Cancers (PCORT UroGynCan) program trains next-generation researchers (including MD, PhD, MD/PhD, ScD, DrPH, and PharmD) to conduct studies in close collaboration with and responsive to the practical interests, needs, and priorities of health system stakeholders including patients, providers, and executives. In pursuit of this career development mission, PCORT UroGynCan aligns multidisciplinary program mentors and trainees with common interests in patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), comparative effectiveness research (CER), implementation science, and learning health system (LHS) research in urologic and/or gynecologic oncology.

To better understand variation in practice and outcomes and the barriers of T4 translation, the interdisciplinary curriculum and mentored hands-on research opportunities of this T32 program interweave the scientific expertise and mentoring experience of more than 2 dozen multidisciplinary faculty. These primary mentors are committed to collaborative, team-based cross-training and research in health services and patient-centered outcomes, clinical epidemiology, dissemination, and implementation, including the emerging field of learning health systems.

With four postdoctoral trainees per year, each for a 2-year appointment, PCORT UroGynCan leverages topically germane resources of education, training, and career development programs at UCLA for our core curriculum. Fellows focus on the following :

  • Expand the multidisciplinary knowledge base of evidence-based practice as it relates to reproductive system cancer care
  • Provide didactic and hands-on research training in the intellectual and philosophical foundation of rapid and sustainable uptake of novel, proven interventions within the broader research enterprise of translational medicine
  • Develop trainees' scientific writing skills for publications, presentations, and grant applications
  • Provide an academic environment that enables development of the research skills and experience needed for successful, independent scientific careers as members and leaders of interdisciplinary teams dedicated to improving patient and population outcomes and health system performance in urologic and gynecologic oncology
  • Model teaching and mentoring skills for trainees' development, including their eventual replication of research training and career development programs that improve reproductive system cancer care as their careers evolve into stable, scientific independence

Training sites include the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS), and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LACDHS)—specifically, Olive View-UCLA and Harbor-UCLA Medical Centers.

For more information about UCLA's Competitive Research Training Grant Programs >