Discovery Fellowship
UCLA Biodesign Discovery Fellowship
Learn Healthcare Innovation from the Ground Up
The UCLA Biodesign Discovery Fellowship is a full-time, year-long training program designed for aspiring healthcare innovators who want to learn how to identify unmet clinical needs and develop transformative healthcare solutions.
Unlike traditional accelerators that focus on advancing existing ventures, the Discovery Fellowship begins with clinical immersion. Fellows learn the innovation process firsthand by observing care delivery, identifying opportunities for improvement, and developing solutions through UCLA Biodesign's proven innovation methodology.
Through interdisciplinary collaboration, structured coursework, mentorship, and hands-on project work, fellows gain the skills necessary to become future leaders in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture creation.
Who Should Apply?
The Discovery Fellowship is designed for individuals who:
- Want to build a career in healthcare innovation
- Are passionate about solving healthcare challenges
- Seek formal training in innovation, entrepreneurship, and product development
- Come from backgrounds in medicine, nursing, engineering, design, business, computer science, or related fields
- May not yet have a startup idea but are eager to learn the innovation process
What Fellows Experience
Clinical Immersion
Work directly within UCLA Health to identify meaningful unmet clinical needs across specialties.
Interdisciplinary Team Formation
Collaborate with peers from diverse backgrounds to tackle complex healthcare challenges.
Innovation Training
Learn need finding, customer discovery, concept generation, prototyping, market assessment, regulatory strategy, reimbursement, and venture development.
Expert Mentorship
Receive guidance from clinicians, entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, and innovation experts.
Venture Creation Experience
Advance opportunities from unmet need identification through early venture formation.
The UCLA Biodesign Discovery Process
Identify
Discover and validate meaningful unmet clinical needs.
Invent
Develop and refine innovative solutions.
Implement
Build commercialization and venture strategies.
Fellowship Benefits
- Full-time, year-long fellowship
- Monthly stipend and benefits
- Intensive innovation bootcamp
- Direct clinical immersion experiences
- Dedicated mentorship from industry and healthcare leaders
- Access to UCLA Health and UCLA innovation resources
- Venture development training
- Integration into the UCLA Biodesign innovation network
Applications open in the spring of each year. Connect with us at biodesign@mednet.ucla.edu.