Research

UCLA has had a long tradition of supporting investigative research and is ranked in the top ten nationally in the amount of grant research support that it receives. An active and symbiotic relationship has developed with various departments in the medical school, especially the Department of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Urology to integrate clinical care of women and research related to women??s health crossing departmental barriers. This is now being carried out in the Iris Cantor Women??s Health Center. Integrated clinical and health services research is also being carried out in this center. In view of this integrated approach to the care of women, UCLA was awarded the National Center of Excellence contract by the Office of Women??s Health/Public Health Service.

Women's Health Initiative Grant The long-term effects of hormone replacement therapy are being evaluated. This grant is composed of a multidisciplinary team headed by Dr. Howard L. Judd.

UCLA AIDS Institute

This is an interdepartmental program bringing together faculty from various departments in the medical school who have a common interest in working on basic and clinical research with relation to autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This institute also offers fellowship for training related to AIDS. Research related to women??s health is well represented in this institute. Dr. Oto Martinez-Maza, a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been elucidating mechanisms which may explain the increased incidence of cervical cancer in women with HIV infection. Dr. Helene Bernstein, M.D., Ph.D. from our Department, whose work was mentioned earlier, is also actively involved. Dr. Yvonne Bryson, Professor of Pediatrics and Director, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases at UCLA, has focused her research efforts on defining the "timing" of maternal-fetal transmission of HIV in utero vs. intrapartum using diagnostic techniques in the infant and relating maternal risk factors to the route of transmission. Her studies will provide essential information to develop strategies of interruption of maternal-fetal transmission including immune therapy, antivirals and vaccines.

Revlon/UCLA Breast Center

This program is headed by Dr. Dennis Slamon, who is also Professor of Medicine at UCLA. An outstanding interdepartmental program of basic and clinical research related to breast cancer is ongoing and this center received international attention because of the discovery of HER-2 neu gene by Dr. Slamon and his team, and also for the clinical implications of this discovery.

UCLA Center on Aging

This center is headed by Dr. David Ruben and research related to aging problems in women is an important component of this center. In addition, this center provides training opportunities and small seed grants related to studies on problems of aging. This center also helps coordinate development of junior faculty who are interested in studying the aging process. Dr. Lauren Nathan, an Associate Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, was a recipient of a fellowship from the American Federation for Aging Research for training in problems related to elderly women.

Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center

This is an interdepartmental program headed by Dr. Judith Gasson, who is Professor of Medicine and Biological Chemistry at UCLA. This center coordinates research activities related to cancer, with a focus on cancers occurring in women being an important element. Some of the faculty in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and others working in women??s related cancer, hold research space in the cancer center. The center offers seed money and provides core facilities to investigators. Faculty within the center come from the School of Medicine, the College of Letters and Sciences, and the School of Public Health. The center is dedicated to fundamental research on a broad variety of human cancers and to the development of new protocols for their treatments including gene therapy.

Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health

The overall goal of the BIRCWH Center is to increase the number and effectiveness of obstetrician/gynecologist investigators engaged in basic and clinical investigative research applied to women??s reproductive health problems. This is accomplished by emphasizing a fundamental approach to the diseases of women that include the disciplines of developmental biology, molecular genetics, cell biology, behavioral science and translational and clinical investigative research. Scholars will be recruited and paired with Faculty mentors who will provide training to allow the scholars to establish their own independent, fundable research programs applicable to the clinical problems of women. Laboratory facilities are made available for use in departments where the faculty mentors are situated.

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA School of Public Health Interaction

There are numerous ongoing collaborative projects related to women??s health between the School of Public Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA with faculty from various departments within the two schools holding joint appointments. For example, Michael Lu, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology, holds a joint appointment with the Department of Community Medicine in the School of Public Health.

Women's Reproductive Health Research Center

The overall goal of the WRHR Center is to increase the number and effectiveness of obstetrician/gynecologist investigators engaged in basic and clinical investigative research applied to Women??s Reproductive Health problems. This is accomplished by emphasizing a fundamental approach to the diseases of women that include the disciplines of developmental biology, molecular genetics, cell biology, behavioral science and translational and clinical investigative research. Scholars will be recruited and paired with Faculty mentors who will provide training to allow the scholars to establish their own independent, fundable research programs applicable to the clinical problems of women. Laboratory facilities are made available for use in departments where the faculty mentors are situated.

Interdepartmental Program in Clinical Pharmacology

Under the leadership of Barbara A. Levey, M.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor Biomedical Affairs, an interdepartmental program in Clinical Pharmacology has been initiated. She herself is a board certified Clinical Pharmacologist. Dr. Julio Licinio has been appointed as Program Director. Dr. Barbara Levey has been a great champion of research related to women??s health and has ensured that women??s health related research would form an important component of this program. An important aspect to be studied relates to gender differences and effects of pregnancy on pharmacokinetics of drugs and potential clinical interactions.

Research Facilities

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA has total of 10,000 square feet of space for research purposes. 5,000 square feet of space is composed of laboratory space with an additional 5,000 square feet being committed by the Dean of the School of Medicine. In addition, a number of our faculty have research laboratories located outside of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, including the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Research Center and the Factor building.