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Research

Junko Ozao-Choy, MD, FACS
Junko Ozao-Choy, MD, FACS
Vice Chair for Research Activities, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
Associate Clinical Professor of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Message from the Vice Chair for Research Activities

The Department of Surgery has a robust research program spanning a multitude of innovative projects and diverse interests.   Last academic year, our faculty authored over 50 papers and were principal investigators for many extramural grant-funded clinical trials and protocols.   Our general surgical residents are actively mentored and undergo a formal research curriculum during their dedicated research year to help direct their interests and to enhance their research experience. Research residents last year were productive, presenting 28 abstracts at national and regional scientific meetings and authoring 35 papers during their 12 months of research time.

At the end of each academic year, our Annual Department of Surgery Research Symposium provides a forum to present the best of this research and brings together notable alumni, scientists and researchers. The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation (founded in 1952), one of the foremost independent research institutes in the country, is located right on our campus and is composed of over 100 active research groups, 600 ongoing research projects supported by over 150 federally funded grants. Many of our faculty members make Lundquist their research home, benefiting from the robust resources it provides. While these resources for scientific research abound, our clinical home is Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a safety-net hospital in the second largest county hospital system in the country, providing a ripe environment for research in healthcare disparities. We are committed to research that improves the care of our underserved and underinsured patients and consider it part of our mission.

Our vibrant, diverse and collaborative research environment is unique to our Department of Surgery, and we are always seeking to continue to ask new questions and to inquire creatively into the unknown to improve the lives of our patients.

Junko Ozao-Choy, MD