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Research Opportunities

Earl Gales, Jr.
Earl Gales, Jr.

UCLA Endocrine Surgery: Research Opportunities

Earl Gales Research Fellowship in Endocrine Surgery

Description.  This 2-year research fellowship is supported by eminent civil engineer and philanthropist Earl Gales, Jr., and his family.  Clinical, outcomes-related, and basic science projects are available.  There is no clinical experience at the present time. Previous fellows interested in rigorous training in clinical research methodology have pursued a concurrent Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) degree through the UCLA Department of Biomathematics:

http://www.biomath.ucla.edu/
http://www.ctsi.ucla.edu/education/training/track-3

An alternative training program is the K30 certificate in clinical research:
http://www.ctsi.ucla.edu/education/training/track-2

The K30 certificate would benefit any future academic surgeon interested in performing independent, high-impact original research in clinical or outcomes-related areas.  Tuition for either program is supported by the fellowship.

Endocrine Surgery research group presented 3 original research podium presentations at the 2011 American Association of Endocrine Surgeons annual meeting in Houston, TX
The UCLA Endocrine Surgery research group presented 3 original research podium presentations at the 2011 American Association of Endocrine Surgeons annual meeting in Houston, TX. Top row (left to right): Philip Ituarte, Michael Yeh, Avital Harari. Bottom row: James Wiseman, Lilah Morris, Joe Hong.

Aims.  Our aim is to train academic endocrine surgeons.  A high level of research productivity is expected from the fellow.  Previous fellows have published multiple papers and given multiple podium presentations at major conferences each year (see publications).  Establishing this type of track record allows our fellows to compete effectively for top faculty positions.

Statistical support.    We are fortunate to have Dr. Philip Ituarte PhD MPH as part of our research group.  Dr. Ituarte is with us full-time, and provides support in statistical methods, epidemiology, mathematical modeling, IRB-related matters, and preparation of grants and manuscripts.

Salary. Salary is commensurate with post-graduate year, according to scales established by the UCLA Office of Graduate Medical Education:
http://www.gme.medsch.ucla.edu/benefits/salaries.htm

Qualifications.  Applicants must have completed at least 2 years of general surgery residency prior to starting the fellowship.  The successful applicant will have a background in peer-reviewed original research publication and excellent scientific writing skills.

Timeline. We are currently accepting applications for the position beginning on July 1, 2013.

How to apply.  A CV, two letters of support, and brief (one page) personal statement are required.  Please call our office at (310) 206-0585 for submission instructions.

Student Research: UCLA Medical Students

Stephanie Young Stephanie Cham Amer Abdulla
First year UCLA Medical students (from left): Stephanie Young, Stephanie Cham, and Amer Abdulla present their STTP projects at the 2012 Josiah Brown Poster Fair.

Description.  Our group accepts 1-3 highly qualified first- and second-year medical students per year.  We require a minimum 1-year time commitment, generally starting in the Spring quarter of first year and ending with the onset of third year clerkships.  All of our past students have been supported by either the Internal Medicine Chiefs’ Fellowship or the Short Term Training Program (STTP):
http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/current/research/

Janice Pasieka and Bian Wu
Bian Wu MS2 wins the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons best poster award (Madison, WI, 2008). Janice Pasieka, society president, is at left.

The motivated student can expect to publish first- or second-authorship manuscripts commensurate with their effort and skill in working as a part of our research team (see publications).  Previous students have given podium presentations at national meetings and even won research awards.

Aims.  Taking on a student represents a considerable time investment on our part.  Students are expected to work at least 10 hours per week on their projects.  Our group routinely works on nights and weekends to meet deadlines.  All students perform literature searches, write background/introduction sections for our manuscripts, and gather data.  It is our priority to provide motivated students with an enriching research experience that bolsters their credentials to create a competitive residency application.

Stipend.  Summer stipends are described in the UCLA Medical School website above.

Timeline.  Given the competitive nature of these positions, we advise students to contact us in January of their first year, as deadlines for the Internal Medicine Chiefs’ Fellowship and Short Term Training Program (STTP) lie in February and March, respectively.  Every year we receive a number of last-minute applications that end up being unsuccessful.

How to apply.  Please email your CV to Dr. Yeh or Dr. Harari and contact Yasmin Ezedine via email or phone at (310) 206-0585 to set up a brief interview.

Members of the UCLA Endocrine Surgery Research Group: Where are they now?

We provide strong mentoring and career guidance.  We are proud to say that 100% of our former full-time research trainees have gone on to secure the positions of their choice.

Residents and Post-doctoral fellows:

  • Lilah F. Morris (resident, 2006-2011) – Endocrine surgery fellowship, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston TX.
  • James E. Wiseman (resident, 2009-2011) – PGY4 position in general surgery, Methodist Hospital , Houston TX.

Students:

  • Alexandra I. Stavrakis (medical student, 2006-2007) – Residency in orthopedic surgery, UCLA, Los Angeles CA.
  • Rajan P. Kulkarni (medical student, 2007-2008) – Residency in dermatology, UCLA, Los Angeles CA.
  • Andrew P. Dhanasopon (medical student, 2008-2009) – Residency in general surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital , Baltimore MD.
  • Matthew Mossanen (medical student, 2008-2009) – Residency in urology, University of Washington , Seattle WA.
  • Roy S. Hwang (medical student, 2008-2009) – Residency in neurosurgery, West Virginia University , Morgantown WV.
  • Bian Wu (medical student, 2008-2009) – Residency in general surgery, UCSF, San Francisco CA.
  • Kevin Ro (undergraduate student, 2008-2010) – UCLA medical school, Los Angeles CA.

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Publications by Past and Present Trainees

(Residents/fellows are indicated in red. Students are indicated in blue.)

  1. Yeh MW, Wiseman JE, Chu SD, Ituarte PH, Harari A, Liu IL, Haigh PI. Population-level predictors of persistent and recurrent hyperparathyroidism. Surgery, accepted.

  2. Hong JC, Morris LF, Park EJ, Ituarte PH, Lee CH, Yeh MW. Transient elevations in intra-operative PTH levels related to anesthetic technique. Surgery, accepted.

  3. Popadich A, Levin O, Smooke-Praw S, Ro K, Fazel M, Arora A, Tolley MS, Pallazzo FF, Learoyd DL, Sidhu S, Delbridge L, Sywak M, Yeh MW. A Multicenter Cohort Study of Total Thyroidectomy and Routine Central Lymph Node Dissection for cN0 Papillary thyroid cancer. Surgery, accepted.

  4. Ro K, Cameron JL, Yeh MW. The Hunterian Laboratory of Experimental Medicine. Ann Surg, in press.

  5. Wiseman JE, Ituarte PH, Hwang RS, Safir I, Pasternak JD, Van Nuys K, Yeh MW. Strategic Impact of a New Academic Endocrine Surgery Program. Ann Surg Oncol. 2011 Feb 23. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 21347789.

  6. Morris LF, Park S, Daskivich T, Churchill BM, Rao CV, Lei Z, Martinez D, Yeh MW. Virilization of a Female Infant by a Maternal Adrenocortical Carcinoma. Endocr Pract. 2011 Feb 16:1-18. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 21324830.

  7. Levin O, Morris LF, Wah DT, Butch AW, Yeh MW. Falsely elevated plasma parathyroid hormone (PTH) mimicking tertiary hyperparathyroidism. Endocr Pract. 2011 Jan 17:1-12. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 21247852.

  8. Wiseman JE, Morris LF, Yeh MW. Thyroid imaging. In: Handbook of Endocrine Surgery, 1st edition, World Scientific Publishing, 2011.

  9. Morris LF, Zelada J, Wu B, Hahn TJ, Yeh MW. Parathyroid surgery in the elderly. Oncologist. 2010;15(12):1273-84. Epub 2010 Dec 15. PubMed PMID: 21159725.

  10. Kulkarni RP, Ituarte PH, Gunderson D, Yeh MW. Clinical pathways improve hospital resource use in endocrine surgery. J Am Coll Surg. 2011 Jan;212(1):35-41. Epub 2010 Nov 30. PubMed PMID: 21123093.

  11. Wu B, Haigh PI, Hwang R, Ituarte PH, Liu IL, Hahn TJ, Yeh MW. Underutilization of parathyroidectomy in elderly patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Sep;95(9):4324-30. Epub 2010 Jul 7. PubMed PMID: 20610600; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2936062.

  12. Hwang RS, Morris LF, Ro K, Park S, Ituarte PH, Hong JC, Yeh MW. A selective, Bayesian approach to intraoperative PTH monitoring. Ann Surg. 2010 Jun;251(6):1122-6. PubMed PMID: 20485138.

  13. Wiseman JE, Mossanen M, Ituarte PH, Bath JM, Yeh MW. An algorithm informed by the parathyroid hormone level reduces hypocalcemic complications of thyroidectomy. World J Surg. 2010 Mar;34(3):532-7. PubMed PMID: 20049440; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2816818.

  14. Zarrinpar A, Yeh MW. Functional cortical neoplasms. Cancer Treat Res. 2010;153:163-86. Review. PubMed PMID: 19957225.

  15. Morris LF, Zanocco K, Ituarte PH, Ro K, Duh QY, Sturgeon C, Yeh MW. The value of intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring in localized primary hyperparathyroidism: a cost analysis. Ann Surg Oncol. 2010 Mar;17(3):679-85. Epub 2009 Nov 3. PubMed PMID: 19885701; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2820694.

  16. Dhanasopon AP, Shemin RJ, Yeh MW. Cardiac paraganglioma presenting as gestational hypertension. Surgery. 2010 Mar;147(3):459-61. Epub 2008 Oct 11. PubMed PMID: 19744427.

  17. Lewis CE, Tillou A, Yeh MW, Quach C, Hiatt JR, Hines OJ. Web-based portfolios: a valuable tool for surgical education. J Surg Res. 2010 Jun 1;161(1):40-6. Epub 2009 Jan 1. PubMed PMID: 19345374.

  18. Morris LF, Yeh MW. Parathyroidectomy. In: Illustrative Handbook of General Surgery, Ed. Chen H, 1st edition, Springer, New York, 2010.

  19. Imani F, Agopian VG, Auerbach MS, Walter MA, Imani F, Benz MR, Dumont RA, Lai CK, Czernin JG, Yeh MW. 18F-FDOPA PET and PET/CT accurately localize pheochromocytomas. J Nucl Med. 2009 Apr;50(4):513-9. Epub 2009 Mar 16. PubMed PMID: 19289420.

  20. Morris L, Ituarte P, Zarnegar R, Duh QY, Ahmed L, Lee J, Inabnet W 3rd, Meyer-Rochow G, Sidhu S, Sywak M, Yeh M. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy after prior abdominal surgery. World J Surg. 2008 May;32(5):897-903. PubMed PMID: 18228091.

  21. Lewis CE, Yeh MW. Inherited endocrinopathies: an update. Mol Genet Metab. 2008 Jul;94(3):271-82. Epub 2008 Apr 22. Review. PubMed PMID: 18434223.

  22. Morris LF, Ragavendra N, Yeh MW. Evidence-based assessment of the role of ultrasonography in the management of benign thyroid nodules. World J Surg. 2008 Jul;32(7):1253-63. Review. PubMed PMID: 18311500.

  23. Stavrakis AI, Ituarte PH, Ko CY, Yeh MW. Surgeon volume as a predictor of outcomes in inpatient and outpatient endocrine surgery. Surgery. 2007 Dec;142(6):887-99; discussion 887-99. Epub 2007 Oct 26. PubMed PMID: 18063073.

  24. Vardanian AJ, Hines OJ, Farrell JJ, Yeh MW. Incidentally discovered tumors of the endocrine glands. Future Oncol. 2007 Aug;3(4):463-74. Review. PubMed PMID: 17661721.

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