Funding Priorities

There is no better time to invest in the UCLA Department of Computational Medicine when the department is beginning to strategically plan for the future. Early capital and philanthropic commitments will positively influence the direction, focus, and growth of the department, leaving an enduring imprint on the department, UCLA, and health care. 

UCLA’s exceptional investigators have made remarkable advances toward unraveling the complexities of the human body. Realizing the potential of AI and machine-learning technologies in healthcare relies on the ingenuity of such scientists and their ongoing commitment to innovation. Early support for one or more of these funding opportunities will enable the Department to build a robust research platform for computational and biomedical data science and is crucial to developing technologies to advance data-driven approaches to patient care. 

Blockchain and Secure Computation in Medicine

Cryptographic technologies have the potential to transform medicine in much the same way blockchain-enabled technologies have transformed the financial sector. The Department of Computational Medicine has expertise in the foundational technologies of cryptography and secure computing to develop the key technologies for a blockchain-enabled computation system that will support data sharing while also preserving privacy. Your pledge or gift will accelerate the development and deployment of a prototype system. 

Endowed Chairs in Computational Medicine

At institutions of higher learning, endowed chairs offer an extraordinary opportunity to invest in scholarly and scientific achievement and enhance UCLA’s ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty. Endowed chairs provide funding stability and research flexibility—the cornerstone of breakthrough discoveries. Donors who choose to establish endowments often do so in honor or memory of someone who has made a difference in their lives. The donor also makes a difference by creating legacies of leadership that will guide the university into the future. 

Preeminent faculty are drawn to institutions that provide the financial resources that free them from dependence on outside funding and allow them to pursue their most innovative research ideas. A series of endowed chairs in computational medicine will support the department’s leadership team and strengthen the education and research activities of distinguished faculty by underwriting pioneering investigations, supporting talented graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, and providing funds for the development of new computational methods. The continuity of funding provided by endowed chairs provides financial flexibility in planning long-term research without having to rely solely on outside funding agencies and offers the ability to nimbly undertake high- risk, high-reward projects. 

Computational Medicine Fellowships 

Endowing computational medicine fellowships will enable the department to recruit a talented cohort of postdoctoral fellows who have been uniquely trained to develop technologies that bridge data science and medicine. This prestigious fellowship will attract the best young data scientists in the world to specifically partner with clinical faculty in transforming patient care practices in UCLA Health. The fellowship will provide the added benefit of creating a path for these outstanding trainees to join the UCLA faculty, building a pipeline for the best young minds to begin their careers as independent investigators at UCLA. 

AI in Medicine Pilot Projects 

The UCLA Department of Computational Medicine offers a unique academic environment to pursue integrative research between the basic, information/data, and clinical sciences. The department has activated successful collaborations with clinical teams, such as the anesthesiology surgery team, to employ computational methods leading to positive outcomes on patient care. The department aims to cultivate relationships with other clinical departments in order to bring this program to scale and maximize the influence predictive modeling can have on the healthcare system. Investments in this area will immediately fund projects and strengthen the link between the department and clinical care, expanding the reach of new technologies and increasing the number of patients who benefit from these strategies. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION