Discovery Fellows

Meet the UCLA Biodesign Discovery Fellows on the frontlines of healthcare innovation.
These individuals embody our mission to transform medicine through the identification of unmet needs and the development of novel technologies.

The application for the new cohort is open!

Apply Here!

Current Fellows

2022 – 2023

MEDICINE. PREVENTION. EARLY DETECTION.

Matthew Carroll, MD

NEUROSURGERY. SPINE. PRECISION.

Timothy J. Florence, MD, PhD

CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY. SURGICAL DEVICES. INNOVATIVE DESIGN.

Henry Hoang, MSN, RNFA, ACNP-BC

UCLA ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON.

Jennifer Kallini, MD

MATERIALS ENGINEERING. DEVICES. NEUROVASCULAR.

Dieter Rutzen Beauchamp, MS

DIGITAL HEALTH. INNOVATION. STRATEGY.

Mahruq Siddiqui, MBA

CARDIOVASCULAR. PREVENTION. INNOVATION.

Marwah Shahid, MD

SURGERY. BIOTECHNOLOGY. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

Tuan D. Tran, MBA

Alumni Fellows

2021 – 2022

CARDIOVASCULAR. PREVENTION. INNOVATION.

Alexander Upfill-Brown, MD, MS

CARDIOLOGY. DIGITAL HEALTH. QUALITY.

David Cho, MD

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. ROCKET SCIENCE. INNOVATION.

Glen Meyerowitz, MS

PEDIATRICS. DEVICES. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

Jacqueline Kading, MD

HOSPITALIST. HEALTH EQUITY. DEVICES.

Julio LaTorre, MD

DESIGN. CRITICAL CARE. BIOENGINEERING.

Laura Santoso, MD

DEVICES. RHEUMATOLOGY.

Richard Seto, MD

INFORMATICS. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. DIGITAL HEALTH.

Samir Akre

2020 – 2021

DESIGN. INNOVATION. EDUCATION.

Byron Wilson, MS

GLOBAL MEDICINE. DEVICES. STRATEGY.

Christian Johnson, MBA, MS

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY. PAIN MANAGEMENT. RESEARCH.

Elizabeth Lord, MD

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.. ROCKET SCIENCE. INNOVATION.

Glen Meyerowitz

EMERGENCY MEDICINE. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. PEACE CORPS.

Jason Singer, MD

ANESTHESIOLOGY. BIOENGINEERING. TELEMEDICINE.

Laleh Jalilian, MD

DIGITAL. NURSING. CARDIAC ICU.

Onike Williams,NP-C,MSN,APRN,PHN

DEVICES. CARDIOVASCULAR. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING.

>

Wesley Jones, MS

2019 – 2020

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY. DIGITAL. BIOMATERIALS

Alexandra Stavrakis, MD

SURGERY. ENGINEERING. SOFTWARE.

Gabe Oland, MD

ROBOTICS. ENGINEERING. STROKE.

Gil Herrnstadt, PhD

DIAGNOSTICS. CARDIOLOGY. CHRONIC CARE.

Luke Allera

CARDIOVASCULAR. BIOMATERIALS. ENGINEERING.

Marcus Goudie, PhD

 

RADIATION ONCOLOGY. INFORMATICS. CONSULTING.

Neil Parikh, MD, MBA

MEDICINE. CRITICAL CARE. ENGINEERING.

Obi Emeruwa, MD, MBA

ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY. INFECTION. IMMUNOTHERAPY.

Peter Hsiue, MD

UROLOGY. ROBOTIC SURGERY. BIOMATERIALS.

Renea Sturm, MD

PEDIATRICS. ONCOLOGY. SYSTEMS ENGINEERING.

Stephen Speicher, MD

Accelerator Fellows

A longitudinal innovation program for faculty and staff interested in inventing technology at the intersection of medical devices, diagnostics, software, and digital therapeutics, the Accelerator Fellowship was launched in 2020. A series of monthly workshops and one-on-one mentorship meetings led by UCLA Biodesign faculty are coupled with project-focused deliverables to advance concept and prototype-stage projects, de-risk early-stage milestones, and prepare for innovation pitch competitions. The Accelerator Fellows are uniquely supported by interdisciplinary teams of MBA candidates at the UCLA Anderson School of Management through a course lead by UCLA Biodesign and Anderson faculty.

Current Fellows

2022 – 2023

INFORMATICS. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING. DIGITAL HEALTH.

Samir Akre

HEART SURGERY. HEART TRANSPLANTATION. LUNG TRANSPLANTATION.

Abbas Ardehali, MD

DIGITAL HEALTH. ENTREPRENEURSHIP. QUALITY AND CLINICAL INFORMATICS.

David Cho, MD, MBA

PEDIATRICS. DEVICES. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

Jacqueline Kading, MD

SURGERY. DEVICES. EQUITY.

Amanda Labora, MD

AI. ACUTE CARE. DEVICES.

Julio LaTorre, MD

REGISTERED NURSE INVENTOR.

Veronica Pellegrino, BSN, RN

DESIGN. EQUITY. HEALTH SYSTEMS.

Laura Santoso, MD

Alumni Fellows

2021 – 2022

NEUROSCIENCE. GASTROENTEROLOGY. MEDICAL DEVICES.

Dean Ehrlich, MD

SURGERY. WOMENS HEALTH. ONCOLOGY.

Farnaz Haji, DO

SURGERY. ENGINEERING. SOFTWARE.

Gabriel Oland, MD

DEVICES. BIOMATERIALS. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

George Aninwene II, PhD

PLASTIC SURGERY. MICROVASCULATURE. RECONSTRUCTION.

Jason Roostaeian, MD

INTERVENTIONAL NEURORADIOLOGY. DEVICES.

Jose Morales, MD

ANESTHESIA. MEDICAL DEVICES. SOFTWARE.

Jure Marijic, MD

HOSPITALIST. SOFTWARE. TELEMEDICINE.

Li Zhou, MD

ORTHOPAEDICS. DEVICES. DATA SCIENCE.

Nelson SooHoo, MD

MEDICINE. CRITICAL CARE. ENGINEERING

Obi Emeruwa, MD

PRECISION MEDICINE. ONCOLOGY. DATA SCIENCE.

Paul Boutros, PhD, MBA

UROLOGY. ROBOTIC SURGERY. BIOMATERIALS.

Renea Sturm, MD

DIAGNOSTICS. BIOINFORMATICS. PHARMACEUTICALS.

Seungjun Yeo

COMPUTER SCIENCE. DIAGNOSTICS. CRYPTOLOGY.

Sumita Jonak, MS, MBA

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. DEVICES. ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY

Tyler Clites, PhD

2020 – 2021

WEARABLES. CARDIOLOGY. DIAGNOSTICS.

Ali Nsair, MD

DIAGNOSTICS. HEAD&NECK SURGERY. BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING.

Ashley Kita, MD

GASTROENTEROLOGY. SOFTWARE. INNOVATION.

Berkeley Limketkai, MD, PhD

NEUROSURGERY. DEVICES. ENDOVASCULAR SURGERY.

Geoffrey Colby, MD, PhD

WOMEN'S HEALTH. DRUG DELIVERY. ONCOLOGY.

Leena Nathan, MD

PLASTIC SURGERY. NEUROBIOLOGY. REGULATORY SCIENCE.

Michael Delong, MD

DEVICES. CARDIOLOGY. DIGITAL.

Rushi Parikh, MD

WOMEN'S HEALTH. DRUG DELIVERY. SURGERY.

Tamara Grisales, MD

BIOENGINEERING. BIOMATERIALS. RESEARCH.

Timothy Deming, PhD

Translational Fellows

Launched in 2021, the Translational Fellowship is a catalyst for clinical trainees and junior faculty seeking experience in healthcare innovation through clinical study design, strategy, and execution. The opportunity to interact with external study sponsors developing technology at the forefront of healthcare delivery enables the Translational Fellows to build a foundational knowledge of the clinical development process and the supporting functions for the adoption of new technology, such as regulatory, reimbursement, and commercialization considerations.

Current Fellows

2022 – 2023

PEDIATRICS. CRITICAL CARE. BIOMEDICAL ENGINNERING.

Alex Katz, MD, MS

ONCOLOGY. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES. ACADEMIC COLLABORATIONS.

Adam Singer, MD, PhD