Director
Lu Song, PhD, DABCC, FACB
Chief of Clinical Chemistry
Associate Professor
Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Telephone: (310) 267-8169
Fax: 310-267-0972
E-mail: LuSong@mednet.ucla.edu
Fellowship Coordinator
Jayne Lu
Telephone: (310) 267-1900
E-mail: xiaojianlu@mednet.ucla.edu
Faculty and Research Interests
| Josh Deignan, PhD | Molecular Diagnostics |
| Thomas Drake, MD | Clinical Informatics |
| Omai Garner, PhD | Serology, infectious disease, microbiology, POCT |
| Imir Metushi, PhD | General clinical chemistry, therapeutic drug monitoring, clinical toxicology, immunology, POCT |
| Nam Ku, MD | Hematology and coagulation |
| Stan Nelson, MD | Clinical genomics |
| Lu Song, PhD | General clinical chemistry, Endocrinology, Special Chemistry, Laboratory Calculations and Statistics |
Program Listing
Level(s) of training: Postdoctoral
Number of positions available per year: 1
Duration of program: 2 years
Approximate annual salary or stipend: Consistent with PGY1/PGY2
Source of funding: Departmental
Current number of trainees: 1
Number of past graduates: New Program
Application Procedures
Prerequisites
Qualified candidates who have completed a PhD or equivalent degree from a recognized institution of higher learning. Applicants must have a satisfactorily completed a minimum of 30 semester hours (or equivalent) in undergraduate and/or graduate level chemistry courses to meet certification eligibility requirements by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (ABCC). A description of approved courses can be found in Table 1 and Table 2 below and additional information may be accessed at the ABCC’s website. Foreign graduates with credentials earned outside of the United States or Canada will be required to submit a credentials evaluation from an ABCC approved agency. A list of approved credentials evaluation services may be accessed at ABCC Credentials Evaluation Services.
Table 1: Subject Areas/Related Course Classification
| Course Classification | Subject Area or Related Courses |
| Type A | Undergraduate or graduate courses in analytic, organic, physical, or general chemistry, or biochemistry |
| Type B | Undergraduate or graduate courses in toxicology, animal biology, molecular biology, medical genetics, genetics, microbiology, or immunology |
| Type C | Undergraduate or graduate courses in material or computer sciences, or bioinformatics |
Table 2: Distribution of Required Semester Hours per ABCC Certification Discipline
| ABCC Certification Discipline | Minimum Required Course Semester Hours |
| Clinical Chemistry | At least 28.0 Type A course semester hours and 2.0 Type B AND/OR Type C course semester hours. |
| Toxicological Chemistry | At least 28.0 Type A course semester hours and 2.0 Type B AND/OR Type C course semester hours. |
| Molecular Diagnostics | At least 20.0 Type A AND/OR Type B course semester hours, and 10.0 additional semester hours from either Type A, B, AND/OR C courses. |
Procedures
Submit letter of intent, curriculum vitae and three letters of recommendation.
Selected applicants will be required to complete a formal application and submit transcripts of graduate and undergraduate records. Interview is required and will include a seminar presentation. Applicants with more than three prior years of postdoctoral experience are not eligible to apply.
Deadline
September 13 for application to positions starting January or July 1 the following year. Our online application may be accessed at the UCLA ComACC Clinical Chemistry Fellowship Application
Program Description
The program’s mission is to prepare those with a PhD for a career in academic clinical chemistry including service, teaching, and research activities and to be certified by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry in General Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. The training will be conducted in diverse environments; a Clinical Hospital laboratory (Ronald Reagan Hospital), a Reference/Outreach laboratory (Bruin University Reference Laboratory), a Performance Enhancing Drug Testing Laboratory (Olympic Analytical Laboratory), and a Molecular Diagnostics laboratory all at the UCLA Medical Center. These environments require excellence in different skill sets and this exposure will give the fellow a broad perspective of career choices. The program will provide training in the operation of a high complexity clinical laboratory, which includes but is not limited to; on-call responsibilities, lab management, compliance, quality assurance, laboratory information systems, informatics, and curriculum specified by ComACC. The program will also stress molecular diagnostic testing, genetics, quality initiatives, the application of laboratory test results to the management of patients and “Acting Director Training”. The trainee will also be expected to participate in applied clinical, translational, or basic science research with a UCLA faculty member.