UCSD School of Medicine
In 1962, the University of California Regents approved a medical school for the San Diego campus, which in 1968 matriculated its first class. Despite the youth of the school, a 2000 survey of graduate programs by U.S. News and World Report ranks the UCSD School of Medicine among the top 25 medical schools in the nation. The School of Medicine's commitment to teaching is evidenced by the 538 medical students, and approximately 600 interns, residents and fellows.
The School of Medicine has 14 academic departments attracting $180 million in research contracts and grants, including support for hundreds of active clinical trials. Laboratory space for the Medical School (not including general campus departments) totals over 685,000 assigned square feet (asf). Additionally, the SOM has renovated more than 25,000 asf of existing laboratory and support space over the past 10 years.
Of the $180 million in grants and contracts, the five largest are: Robert Tukey, Pharmacology, Superfund Grant for Environmental effects on health, $20 million; Thomas Kipps, Cancer Center, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), $16.5 million; Leon Thal, Neurology, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, $12,639,123; Marilyn Farquhar, Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Signaling in Membrane Traffic and Cell Proliferation, $8,811,892; and Daniel O'Connor, Medicine, Sympathetic Neuroeffector Junctions and Blood Pressure, $7,473,951.
Clinical facilities are present on the School of Medicine campus, UCSD Medical Center La Jolla (Thornton Hospital), at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center adjacent to the Medical School, and at UCSD Medical Center Downtown San Diego (Hillcrest). UCSD currently operates a 399-bed hospital and 35-bed psychiatric ward at the Hillcrest site and a 105-bed hospital and outpatient facility at the Thornton site close to the SOM campus. UCSD Healthcare encompasses the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, UCSD Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, and primary care and specialty practices of faculty physicians with the UCSD Medical Group. In fiscal year 2000 through May, the two UCSD Hospitals served 113,278 inpatient days and 434,029 outpatient visits. Affiliated hospitals in the San Diego area — such as Children's Hospital and the Naval Regional Medical Center — are also used for clinical training. The UCSD School of Medicine has over 1,000 clinical research projects ongoing at any point in time, with an average of 200 active studies posted on UCSD's clinical trials website.
