Welcome
A Message from our Program Directors

Ravindra L. Mehta, MD, FACP
Director, CREST and Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research Programs
Professor of Medicine, Active Emeritus
Department of Medicine
UC San Diego

J. Allen McCutchan, MD, MSc
Associate Director, CREST and Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research
Professor of Medicine, Active Emeritus
Division of Infectious Diseases
UC San Diego
Dear Prospective Student,
As you explore our Clinical Research master’s degree program, you will see how this degree can help you advance your career in clinical research. Through our rigorous coursework, you can develop the in-depth knowledge and skills necessary to meet the increasing demand for well-qualified professionals who can perform valid, credible patient-based research in academia, industry, research institutes, and health and regulatory agencies. Our program stands out with our multidisciplinary faculty and diverse student body.
As directors and founders of this degree program, we are pleased to work with our team of world renowned UC San Diego Faculty who develop and lead our courses. We focus on the integration of practical learning as a core aspect of our curriculum. We continually evaluate the program objectives to ensure that the competencies gained are highly relevant across research industries. Since launching the program in 2003, we regularly gather feedback from our panel of expert academic and industry advisors to ensure that the program curriculum is one of the most rigorous and comprehensive among Clinical Research graduate programs around the world.
We offer multiple pace of study options to accommodate the needs of working professionals. Our team of administrative professionals offer guidance as you pursue your degree at our highly ranked UC San Diego School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
We encourage you to contact us to discuss how this program can help you advance your career.
J. Allen McCutchan, MD, MSc
Associate Program Director, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medicine - Division of Infectious Diseases, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Ravindra L. Mehta, MD, FACP, FRCP
Program Director - Associate Chair for Clinical Medicine, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Professor Emeritus of Medicine
Director - UCSD CREST and Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research Program
Program Faculty
John Bellettiere, PhD
Co-Course Director - Epidemiology I & II
Assistant Adjunct Professor - Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Balambal Bharti, PhD
Co-Course Director - Epidemiology I & II
Project Scientist - UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center
Raphael Cuomo, PhD, MPH, CPH, FRSPH
Course Director - Health Services Research
Course Co-Director - Mentor Program and ISP Seminar Series A and B
Academic Coordinator - MAS in Clinical Research, UC San Diego Extension

Colin Depp, PhD
Course Director - Behavioral Science Research, ISP Database Coordinator
Education Director - Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute
Associate Professor - Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Jennifer J. Ford, MBA
Director - Conflict of Interest (COI) Research Compliance and Integrity, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, UC San Diego
Jennifer Graves, MD, PhD, MAS
Associate Professor - Neurosciences
Director - Online Course and Program Development
Director - UCSD Neuroimmunology Research Program
Director - Rady Children's Pediatric MS Center
Michael Hogarth, MD, FACP, FACMI
Course Director - Data Management and Informatics Chief Clinical Research Information Officer, UC San Diego Health,
Professor - Department of Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Samantha Hurst, PhD
Course Director - Qualitative Research, Project Scientist, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Regent Laporte, DVM, PhD, MSc
Course Director - Translational Research Fundamentals, Applied Translational Research, Applied Translational Research II
Program Director - Specialized Certificate in Translational Science, UC San Diego Extension and Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute
Anne M. Liljenstrand, PhD
Course Director - Professional Development Seminar
Effective Communication Managing Director - The Bader Group

Etienne Macedo, MD, PhD, FASN
Course Co-Director - Mentor Program and ISP Seminar Series A and B
Assistant Professor - Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Sheldon Morris, MD, MPH
Co-Course Director - Patient Oriented Research I & II
Course Director - Translational Regenerative Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor - Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Hemal Patel, PhD
Course Director - Scientific Communication Skills
Professor - Department of Anesthesiology, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Bernice Ruo, MD, MAS, FACP
Clinical Professor of Medicine - Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, UCSD

Siddharth Singh, MD
Course Director- CER/Comparative Effectiveness Research
Assistant Professor - Clinical Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Florin Vaida, PhD
Course Director - Biostatistics I & II, Professor, Division of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Seble Chernet
CREST Program Administrator - Department of Medicine / ACTRI, UC San Diego
Raphael Cuomo, PhD, MPH, CPH, FRSPH
Course Director - Health Services Research
Course Co-Director - Mentor Program and ISP Seminar Series A and B
Academic Coordinator - MAS in Clinical Research, UC San Diego Extension
Cynthia Grande
Career Advisor & Outreach Manager Office of Advanced Professional Education and Development, UC San Diego Extended Studies
Krisztina Hershon, MSc
Director - Graduate Degree Programs Office of Advanced Professional Education and Development, UC San Diego Extension
Susan Leach
CREST Program Representative - Department of Medicine / ACTRI, UC San Diego
Hugo Villar, PhD, MBA
Dean of UC San Diego Extension
Melissa Zamudio, MA
Graduate Student Program Advisor & Coordinator - MAS in Clinical Research, Office of Advanced Professional Education and Development, UC San Diego Extended Studies
David Adler, PharmD
Senate Emeritus - UC San Diego School of Pharmacy
Susan Carpenter, PhD
Director - Clinical Services Lilly Biotechnology Center, Eli Lilly & Co.
Eileen Casal, RN, MSN
Sr. Director - Clinical Affairs Dexcom
G. Bryan Cornwall, PhD, MBA, PEng
Associate Professor - USD Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering
President & Founder - Cornwall Bioengeneering & Communications
Gary S. Firestein, MD
Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research Director, Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI)
Distinguished Professor - Medicine, UC San Diego Health Sciences
David Frakes, MD, FRCPC, FAPA
Vice President & Regional Medical Officer - Western North America PPD Biotech
Carolyn Kelly, MD
Professor Emeritus - UC San Diego School of Medicine
John D. Malone, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, FACPE
Head Clinical Investigations - Naval Medical Center San Diego Research
Program Manager - Navy Medicine West at U.S. Navy Medicine
Larry Mimms, PhD
Chief Executive Officer - ProciseDx, LLC
Carlos M. Nunez, MD
Chief Medical Officer - ResMed
Ted Okerson, MD, MAS, FACP, FACE, FTOS
Senior Field Physician & Senior Director - Cardiovascular/Metabolic Disease AstraZeneca
Kourosh Parivar, M.Pharm
VP & Head - Clinical Pharmacology Pfizer Oncology
Vinod Pullarkat, MD, MRCP
Clinical Professor - Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation City of Hope Medical Center
Maria Savoia, MD
Dean - UC San Diego School of Medicine
K.A. Ajit Simh, MS
President - Shiba Biotechnology, Inc.
Keith Wilner, MD, PhD
Executive Director - Pfizer