Training Programs

Opportunities available for surgical residents, medical students, and undergraduates.

We use a team-based approach to carry out high-impact clinical and outcomes research. Our research focus is on thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal disease. However, the research skills we teach are translatable to any field, and our previous medical students have entered radiation oncology, dermatology, general surgery, and internal medicine (cardiology). Projects range from randomized clinical trials, population level studies using large databases (California Cancer Registry, NSQIP, Marketscan), informatic interventions via EMR, and retrospective clinical studies. As a member of our team, students will be supported by our faculty members from endocrine surgery and endocrinology, biostatisticians, endocrine surgery clinical fellow, resident research fellow, and lab manager.

Research Residents

UCLA residents interested in endocrine surgery research are encouraged to contact us in January of their intern year, as all are expected to compete for the Gerald S. Levey Surgical Research Award.

Residents from other programs are required to have salary support from either their home institutions or extramural funding sources. We are able to help residents prepare competitive applications for research awards, but this must be done at least one year in advance.

Research residents are expected to commit to our lab for 2 years while they spearhead their own research projects, apply for grants, and submit abstracts for presentation at yearly research conferences.

Research residents can expect constant guidance and mentorship from Dr. Yeh, Dr. Wu and Dr. Livhits at our weekly research meetings and 1:1 monthly mentorship meetings with Dr. Yeh to discuss their ongoing projects and career development.

Medical Students

Aims

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. We also recommend that students attend at least 3 meetings prior to joining the lab to see if it is a good fit for the student.

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. Previous students have given podium presentations at national meetings and even won research awards.

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. All students perform literature searches, write manuscripts, collect and analyze data, submit abstracts, and publish papers.

It is our priority to provide motivated students with an enriching research experience that bolsters their credentials to create a competitive residency application.

Timeline

MS1 (pre-clinical year): 1-2 resident-led research projects with minimum 75% attendance at weekly lab meetings

MS2 (clinical year): continue with resident-led projects and attendance as your rotation schedule allows

MS3 (discovery year): spearhead 1-2 of your own projects planning to publish within the next 2 years. Weekly attendance at lab meetings is required.

MS4: finish projects and work closely with PIs to prepare a competitive residency application

Medical students can expect constant guidance and mentorship from Dr. Yeh, Dr. Wu and Dr. Livhits at our weekly research meetings to discuss their ongoing projects and career development. Medical students can also expect to work closely with research residents on projects and receive mentorship on residency planning.

Undergraduates

Thank you for your interest in the Endocrine Surgery Research Group. We are not currently accepting undergraduate students in our lab at this time.

Our group accepts 1-2 highly qualified undergraduate UCLA students. We require a minimum 1-year time commitment.

Taking on a student represents a considerable time investment on our part. Students are expected to work 5-10 hours per week or satisfy their SRP-99 course commitment: during the academic year, students who are working 3-5 hours per week can enroll in one unit and students working 6-10 hours per week can enroll in two units. During Summer Sessions, students working 5-8 hours of work per week can enroll in one unit, and students working 10-16 hours per week can enroll in two units.

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.

If you are interested in getting involved with our lab, please fill out our contact form or email us at uclaendosurgery@gmail.com with your CV attached.

Medical Student Testimonials

Xochitl Longstaff, Class of 2025

I started medical school with a very open mind about what specialty I wanted to pursue, but knowing that I wanted to get a rigorous education in clinical research. After meeting with a number of potential mentors, I came across the endocrine surgery research group and started attending lab meetings. I really enjoyed the fun and hard-working atmosphere of the team and was interested in learning more about molecular tests and genetic markers in cancer. I appreciated how invested Dr. Wu, Dr. Yeh, and Dr. Livhits are not only in research but also in mentorship. Everyone on the team does a great job teaching and including medical students on projects. During my time with the lab, my work has focused on the performance of molecular tests in indeterminate thyroid nodules.

Yifan Mao, Class of 2025

As a first-year medical student, I was looking for a clinical research lab that was productive, collaborative, and supportive. My first project was a retrospective chart review study to assess the extent of surgery for patients with medullary thyroid cancer. I learned how to lead a multi-center study and collaborate with endocrinologists, biostatisticians, and several other team members throughout the process, which ultimately led to several presentations at national-level conferences and a first-author publication in JAMA Otolaryngology! Now I'm currently leading a qualitative research project to better understand the perceptions and barriers to thyroid disease care among Chinese-Americans in Los Angeles. I am forever grateful for the constant support and guidance of our PIs Drs. Yeh, Wu, and Livhits, and the rest of our lab. I would highly recommend joining this incredible team!

Kimberly Yan, Class of 2022

I joined the UCLA Endocrine Surgery Research Group in the hopes of finding a collaborative and interdisciplinary team conducting innovative research. In less than a year of working with the group, I conducted a research project and submitted an abstract to a major research conference on my project investigating the trends in thyroid cancer incidence and incidence-based mortality within the state of California. Under the guidance and mentorship of clinician-researchers like Dr. Yeh, Dr. Livhits and Dr. Leung and their team of residents, biostatisticians, and administrative support, I have achieved so much as a first-year medical student and learned skills that will help me throughout my medical education.

Patrick Chin, Class of 2022

The project I am currently working on is a study of how molecular markers identified in cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules relate to their surgical histopathology upon resection. Hopefully, this work will give us more insight into these molecular marker test's ability to prognosticate high and low risk cancer. Working with the residents, Dr. Livhits and Dr. Yeh has been a great experience and very educational- if you are considering doing research here, I highly encourage you to reach out!

Angela Chen, Class of 2020

I conducted and contributed to retrospective research, prospective research and case study. Notably, I directed a comprehensive retrospective review of the association between pregnancy and thyroid cancer using the California Cancer Registry database. I participated in research on biochemical and skeletal outcomes of parathyroidectomy for normocalcemic primary hyperparathyroidism. Most recently, I have been involved in a prospective study on the outcomes of molecular testing for diagnosing thyroid nodules with indeterminate pathology. As a member of the Endocrine Surgery Lab, I was able to learn, develop and refine my abilities to conduct clinical research. The support and guidance provided by the attending faculty, residents, statisticians, and other members of the group was exceptional. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to receive high caliber training with Dr. Yeh, Dr. Livhits, Dr. Leung and colleagues. If you have diverse research interests, I would encourage you to consider applying to the Endocrine Surgery Lab. Regardless of whether you will be a future endocrine surgeon, the skills and knowledge you gain will be transferrable to all specialties in medicine. Endocrinology as a field is highly diverse and incredibly important to learn about. You will find a welcoming, nurturing, educational experience with the Endocrine Surgery Lab.