The University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine—known as the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM)—is an accredited

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

located in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. The school was renamed in 2001 in honor of

media mogul A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a entrepreneur who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media-related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant co ...

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

who donated $200 million in unrestricted funds. Founded in 1951, it is the second medical school in the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

system, after the

UCSF School of Medicine The UCSF School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of California, San Francisco and is located at the base of Mount Sutro on the Parnassus Heights campus in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1864 by Hugh Toland, it is the o ...

History

Founding

For many years, dating back to when it first affiliated with the

in 1873, the

UCSF The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It condu ...

School of Medicine was the only public medical school in California. This made sense in the late 19th century when most of California's population lived in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

was a lightly populated desert. It no longer made sense by the 1940s, after

had overtaken

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to become the leading metropolis on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

. Dr.

Elmer Belt Elmer Belt (April 10, 1893 – May 17, 1980) was an internationally recognized urologist, a pioneer in sex-change surgery, an important mover in the founding of the UCLA School of Medicine, and a book collector known for assembling a library o ...

was instrumental in lobbying for the establishment of the School. Therefore, in 1945, the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

voted to establish a medical school at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In 1947, Stafford L. Warren was appointed as the first dean. Warren had served on the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

while on leave from his post at

University of Rochester School of Medicine A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. His choice of core faculty consisted of his former associates at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

in Andrew Dowdy as the first professor of

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

, John Lawrence as the first professor of

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, and Charles Carpenter as the first professor of

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s. Along with William Longmire Jr., a 34-year-old surgeon from

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland where he remained for most ...

, the group was called the Founding Five. The building of the medical center and the School of Medicine began in 1949. The 1951 charter class consisted of 26 men and 2 women. Initially, there were 15 faculty members, although that number had increased to 43 by 1955 when the charter class graduated. The first classes were conducted in the reception lounge of the old Religious Conference Building on Le Conte Avenue. Clinical education was initially conducted on the wards of Harbor General Hospital, which today is Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. In July 1955, the

UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as ''UCLA Medical Center'', "RRMC" or "Ronald Reagan") is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United ...

was opened.

Mellinkoff administration

Sherman Mellinkoff Sherman Mussoff Mellinkoff (March 23, 1920 – July 17, 2016) was an American physician and gastroenterologist. He was the second dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, ...

succeeded Stafford Warren as dean in 1962 and served for the next 24 years. Under Mellinkoff, the

UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute The Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior is a research institute of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). It includes a number of centers, including the "Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics", which uses DNA sequencing, g ...

, the UCLA Brain Research Institute, and the Marion Davies Children's Center were founded. The

Jules Stein Eye Institute The Jules Stein Eye Institute, founded by MCA founder Jules Stein, functions as the department of ophthalmology for the UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, Californ ...

and the Reed Neurological Research Center were established. By decade's end, UCLA had doubled the size of the medical school and the hospital. The UCLA School of Dentistry, School of Public Health, and

School of Nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...

were formed as well. The medical school grew to nearly 400 medical students, more than 700 interns and residents, and almost 200 master's and doctorate candidates. A partnership was formed with the

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science is a private historically black graduate school in Willowbrook, California. It was founded in 1966 in response to inadequate medical access within the Watts region of Los Angeles, California. The ...

in 1966 to train medical students with the goal of meeting the needs of the underserved in

South Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...

. The school continued its growth in the 1970s, becoming affiliated with VA facilities as well as Olive View–UCLA Medical Center. In 1974, the school co-founded the Biomedical Sciences Program with

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

, which offers 24 students each year the opportunity to earn both the B.S. and M.D. degrees in seven years instead of the traditional eight. 1981 saw the dedication of the Doris and Louis Factor Health Sciences Building which houses the School of Nursing and Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 1987, construction began on UCLA Medical Plaza, an outpatient facility located across the street from the main hospital.

Post-Mellinkoff era

Kenneth I. Shine succeeded Sherman Mellinkoff as dean in 1986. In 1992 Shine left UCLA to become President of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, E ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Gerald S. Levey was then appointed provost of medical sciences and dean of the medical school in 1994. Levey oversaw expansion of interdisciplinary research and the establishment of a Department of Human Genetics. The Gonda (Goldschmied) Neuroscience and Genetics Research Center, as well as the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, were constructed. In October 2008, Levey announced that he would be stepping down from the position of Dean in 2009. UCLA Reagan Medical Center

Effective February 2010, A. Eugene Washington was appointed Dean of the UCLA School of Medicine and Vice-Chancellor of Health Sciences at UCLA. Washington, a clinician, academician, researcher, and university administrator, was recruited from

, where he served as Vice-Chancellor and Provost, as well as Professor of gynecology, epidemiology, and health policy. Washington is the first African-American to hold these leadership posts at UCLA. UCLA constructed the

Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (also commonly referred to as ''UCLA Medical Center'', "RRMC" or "Ronald Reagan") is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United ...

across the street from the original facility to comply with the California

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

law. The hospital is named after the late

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. It was designed by architect

I.M. Pei Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...

. Patients were transferred there from the existing hospital in June 2008. In the rankings released for 2022-23, '' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA at No. 19 in the U.S. in research and ranked UCLA Medical Center at No. 5.

Affiliated hospitals

Notable hospitals and Medical Centers affiliated with UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine are: *

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

: The best hospital in California and the west coast, and 2nd best hospital in the United States as per '' U.S. News & World Report'' 2022-23 rankings. *

: The 2nd best hospital in California and the west coast, and 5th best hospital in the United States as per '' U.S. News & World Report'' 2022-23 rankings. * West LA VA Medical Center * St. Mary Medical Center * Kaiser Permanente- Sunset * Kaiser Permanente- Woodland Hills

Summer programs

The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA accepts applications for summer academic enrichment programs. These programs include the Premedical/Predental Enrichment Program (PREP), Summer Medical Dental Education Program (SMDEP), and the Re-Application Post baccalaureate Program (RAP). Application deadlines are March 1 for the PREP and SMDEP programs, while the RAP program has a deadline of May 15.

Notable faculty

* Arie S. Belldegrun, FACS; a director of the UCLA Institute of

Urologic Urology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:οὖρον, οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of t ...

Oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

;

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

and Chief of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine; holds the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology;

Clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

al Director of the UCLA Prostate Disease Research Program;

Surgical Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

Director of the UCLA Kidney Cancer Program *

Selma Calmes Selma Calmes (1940, ''née'' Harrison) is an anesthesiologist and co-founder of the Anesthesia History Association. Early life Calmes was born in Corregidor, an island in Manila Bay that is legally part of Cavite City, in 1940; however, her fami ...

, co-founder of the Anesthesia History Association, former vice-chair of the department of anesthesiology *

Bruce Dobkin Bruce H. Dobkin is an American Professor of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, medical director of the UCLA Neurologic Rehabilitation and Research Program, and Co-Director of the UCLA Stroke Center. He serves as editor-in-ch ...

, director of neurological rehabilitation and editor-in-chief of the journal ''Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair'' * Patrick Dowling, Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine; co-founder and co-director of the

UCLA IMG Program The UCLA International Medical Graduate (IMG) Program is a non-profit educational program for Hispanic International Medical Graduates who are residing in the US legally. Housed in the Dept of Family Medicine of the David Geffen School of Medicine ...

(for

International medical graduate An international medical graduate (IMG), earlier known as a foreign medical graduate (FMG), is a physician who has graduated from a medical school outside of the country where he or she intends to practice. The term non-local medical graduate may be ...

); given the title of NHSC Ambassador by the

National Health Service Corps The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, division of Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Workforce. Members are health professionals providing prim ...

David Fish David Eli Fish is an American physiatrist and one of the editors of a popular physical medicine and rehabilitation, PM&R handbook ''PM&R Pocketpedia''. Education After completing a Residency (medicine), residency in physical medicine and rehabil ...

physiatrist Physical medicine and rehabilitation, also known as physiatry, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to people with physical impairments or disabilities. This can include conditions su ...

, editor of a popular PM&R handbook, ''PM&R Pocketpedia'' *

Robert Peter Gale Robert Peter Gale (born October 11, 1945) is an American physician and medical researcher. He is known for research in leukemia and other bone marrow disorders (such as aplastic anemia). Education Gale received his A.B. degree with honors in ...

FACP, FRSM, expert in leukaemia therapy and bone marrow transplants; helped the Soviet Union and Japan governments mitigating the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power faculty accidents * Michael Gottlieb, one of the first physicians to report a case of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Louis Ignarro Louis J. Ignarro (born May 31, 1941) is an American pharmacologist. For demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide, he was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Robert F. Furchgott and Ferid Murad. Cu ...

, 1998

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

in Physiology/Medicine *

Babak Larian Babak Larian, MD, FACS is the director of the Center for Advanced Head & Neck Surgery in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. He is also the director of the Head and Neck Cancer Center at Cedars-Sinai. He is also involved at the Cedars-Sinai Thyroid Canc ...

, assistant clinical professor of surgery, otolaryngology * Linda Liau, W. Eugene Stern Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery *

, second dean of the UCLA School of Medicine *

Susan Perlman Susan Perlman (born c. 1949) is a Professor in the Department of Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is also Director of Ataxia and Neurogenetics Program and Post-polio Program at that school. She has long been the prima ...

, Professor in the Department of Neurology * Michael E. Phelps, one of the inventors of the positron emission tomography (PET) scanner; chairman and Norton Simon Professor of the Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology; director of the Crump Institute for Molecular Imaging * Joshua Prager, president of

North American Neuromodulation Society North American Neuromodulation Society is a professional scientific organization that serves to promote and advance neuromodulation as a treatment for various diseases. The majority of its members work in pain-related disciplines, although membe ...

Alfredo Sadun Alfredo Arrigo Sadun (born October 23, 1950) is an American ophthalmologist, academic, author and researcher. He holds the Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair at Doheny Eye Centers-UCLA and is Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology at UCLA. Sadun has received r ...

, Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair at Doheny Eye Centers-UCLA *

Alcino J. Silva Alcino J. Silva (born April 9, 1961) is a Portuguese-American neuroscientist who was the recipient of the 2008 Order of Prince Henry and elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2013 for his contributions ...

, Professor of Neurobiology, Psychiatry, and Psychology; pioneer in the field of molecular and cellular cognition of memory *

Ryan Abbott Ryan Abbott (born 25 June 1991) is a former professional Australian rules footballer playing for and in the Australian Football League (AFL). Abbott is from Grovedale, Victoria. He played basketball from 14 and continued until 21. Abbott late ...

, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:UCLA Geffen School of Medicine Medical schools in California Educational institutions established in 1951 Geffen School of Medicine Geffen School of Medicine 1951 establishments in California Westwood, Los Angeles UCLA Health David Geffen