Candidate Programs
Program Name | Tier | Department(s) | Chair (or Key Contact Person) | Program Email(s) | Notes |
| 1 | Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Chair) | Strongest Ph.D. option. Aligns with coursework & computational skills. IDP structure offers diverse faculty. | |
| 1 | Human Genetics | Dr. Paivi Pajukanta (PhD Program Director); Dr. Leonid Kruglyak (Dept. Chair) | SAO: Jessica Keh | Excellent fit with functional genomics background & Shen connection. |
| 2 | Computational Medicine | Prof. Van Savage (Chair, Comp Med) | Strong computational/statistical focus. Good alternative if Bioinformatics is full. | |
| 2 | Molecular & Medical Pharmacology | Prof. Michael Phelps (Chair, per website) | SAO: Elizabeth Fitch | Relevant to neuroscience but broader. Consider if specific PIs align with your research. |
| 3 | Molecular Biology Interdepartmental Program | Prof. Hilary Coller (Chair) | Broader program. Success hinges on finding a PI very quickly. | |
| 3 | Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology | Prof. Albert Courey (Chair) | Foundational science. Less direct computational/genomics focus unless a specific PI bridges this. | |
| 3 | Integrative Biology & Physiology | Prof. Patricia Johnson (Chair, MCIP IDP) | SAO: Yvette Rayos | Risk of faculty overlap with NSIDP. Less ideal. |
| 3 | Bioinformatics Interdepartmental Program (oversees MI) | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Chair, Bioinformatics) | Ph.D. track exists but M.S. might be more common. Strong alignment. |
Program Name | Tier | Department / IDP | Key Contact Person (Name & Title) | Direct Email Address | General Program Email | Date of Last Contact | Notes | Response Received? (Y/N, Date) | Outcome/Next Steps |
| 0 | Human Genetics | Dr. Paivi Pajukanta (PhD Program Director); Dr. Leonid Kruglyak (Dept. Chair) | jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu (SAO) | ~4/10-4/15-2025 (Felix S.) | Felix S. contacted PhD Program Director Dr. Pajukanta | |||
| 0 | Bioinformatics IDP (oversees MI) | Prof. Alex Bui (Director, MI Home Area); Prof. Xinshu (Grace) Xiao (Chair, Bioinfo IDP) | ||||||
| 1 | Bioinformatics IDP | Prof. Xinshu (Grace) Xiao (Chair, Bioinfo IDP); Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Prof & former Chair) | ||||||
| 1 | Molecular & Medical Pharmacology | Dr. Michael Phelps (Chair - confirm currency); Emily Fitch (SAO) | mphelps@mednet.ucla.edu (confirm) | Admits PhD only. | ||||
| 1 | Molecular Biology IDP | Dr. Hilary Coller (Dept. Chair, MBIDP) | ||||||
| 2 | Integrative Biology & Physiology | Prof. Mark Frye (Program Chair) | yrayos@lifesci.ucla.edu (SAO) | |||||
| 2 | Chemistry and Biochemistry | BMSB Graduate Admissions | ||||||
| 2 | Computational Medicine | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Program Director) |
Program Name | Tier | Self-Supporting? | Department(s) | Chair (or Key Contact Person) | Program Email(s) | Notes |
| 1 | TRUE | Computational Medicine | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Faculty Director) | Excellent fit. Online/in-person options. Self-supporting might offer faster admission. Project-based. | |
| 1 | FALSE | Bioinformatics IDP (oversees) | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Chair, Bioinformatics) | Strong alignment with skills. Thesis or Capstone. | |
| 1 | FALSE | Bioinformatics IDP | Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Chair) | Very strong alignment, direct path for your skills. | |
| 2 | FALSE | Human Genetics | Prof. Christina Palmer (Program Director) | Leverages genetics background. Felix contacted them. Different career path but a solid M.S. | |
| 2 | TRUE | Biostatistics | Prof. Thomas Belin (Program Director) | biostat@ucla.edu (general dept) | Strong applied data science focus. Self-supporting. |
| 2 | FALSE | Biostatistics | Prof. Sudipto Banerjee (Chair) | Leverages quantitative skills. | |
| 3 | FALSE | Molecular Biology IDP | Prof. Hilary Coller (Chair) | Broader. May require finding a thesis advisor. | |
| 3 | FALSE | Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology | Prof. Albert Courey (Chair) | Broader. May require finding a thesis advisor. | |
| 3 | FALSE | Computational Medicine | Prof. David Elashoff (Program Director) | dsmoot@mednet.ucla.edu (SAO: Denise Smoot) | More translational, less computational. |
Program Name | Tier | Department / IDP | Key Contact Person (Name & Title) | Direct Email Address | General Program Email | Date of Last Contact | Notes | Response Received? (Y/N, Date) | Outcome/Next Steps |
| 0 | Computational Medicine | Program Director/Admissions; Prof. Van Savage (Dept. Chair) | Self-Supporting ($1,200/unit). Fully online with in-person option. Trains in ML, Stats, Data Mining for Genomics, EHRs, Medical Images. | |||||
| 1 | Human Genetics | Emily Quinn, MS (Program Director) | jkeh@mednet.ucla.edu (SAO) | ~4/10-4/15 (Felix S.) | Felix S. may have contacted via Human Genetics. | |||
| 1 | Bioinformatics IDP | Prof. Alex Bui (Director, MI Home Area); Prof. Xinshu (Grace) Xiao (Chair, Bioinfo IDP) | ||||||
| 2 | Biostatistics | Dr. Hua Zhou (Program Director) | Self-Supporting ($1,250/unit). | |||||
| 2 | Molecular Biology IDP | MCDB Graduate Student Affairs Office (for MS in MCDB, related to MBI) | Molecular Biology IDP primarily PhD; MS in MCDB is the relevant contact. | |||||
| 2 | Molecular, Cell, & Developmental Biology | MCDB Graduate Student Affairs Office | ||||||
| 3 | Bioinformatics IDP | Prof. Xinshu (Grace) Xiao (Chair, Bioinfo IDP); Prof. Eleazar Eskin (Prof & former Chair) | ||||||
| 3 | Biostatistics | Dr. Christina Ramirez (Chair of Admissions) | ||||||
| 3 | Computational Medicine | Dr. Robert Elashoff / Dr. Veena Ranganath (Initial Contact); Doug Smoot (Admin) | Affiliation with UCLA/partners and specific degrees often required. |