Diversity Hub

SNMA is committed to increasing the pipeline of students of color that consider and prepare for medical & scientific careers. Its community mentoring programs provide science appreciation and education, mentoring, and academic enrichment to students interested in pursuing health-related careers. At UCSF, SNMA provides academic preparation, recruitment and retention programming in order to assure the pipeline to medicine is supported.

The Student Veterans at UCSF is comprised of Veterans, Active Duty, Reservists, and other Military affiliates from all of the professional and graduate programs at UCSF. We aim to; (1) Provide a support network for these students; (2) Advocate for service members; (3) Increase Veteran visibility on campus; and (3) Raise awareness of Veteran-specific health issues.

The goal of TSSA is to facilitate the social connection and intellectual exchange among the Taiwanese community in UCSF. It also aims to facilitate the interaction with other Taiwanese communities around Bay Area and the country. The major activities include celebration for traditional holidays, the annual farewell/welcome party in the summer, and occasional events such as Taiwanese film discussion. We invite students, postdocs, staffs, and faculty members from Taiwan or having interest in Taiwanese culture to join us to appreciate the Taiwanese culture. /

Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) provides racial and ethnic minority students, students from lower-income households, and students who are the first in their family to attend medical school easy access to mentoring. UIM and its mentoring project aim to provide targeted experiences to 1st and 2nd year medical students with less inherent medical experience before they start 3rd year and are evaluated (in part) on their medical school cultural knowledge on the wards. We aim to begin providing this advantage by facilitating mentorship from physicians from all across the Bay Area. These volunteers will donate their time to invest in the next generation of medical professionals, and bestow in them the institutional knowledge, wisdom and emotional support they have acquired throughout their years in medicine.

Our purpose is to provide a standing mechanism to deal with the issues that arise out of conflict and to promote the general welfare of Filipinos at UCSF by organizing a forum and other special events and fostering cross cultural exchange activities with staffs and students. We serve as the voice of the Filipino Community in social events, UCSF multi cultural functions, all diversity functions including Community of Minority Organization (COMO).

VSA at UCSF engages our inter-professional community with a rich and multi-faceted view of Vietnamese Culture through cultural events, community involvement, and medical Vietnamese elective. We have always been one of the most active cultural organizations on campus and continue to host annual events to promote cultural awareness including the Fall Banquet to welcome new students, Winter Holiday Potluck, Vietnamese New Years (Tet) Festival, Black April Commemoration for the Fall of Saigon, and our Spring Vietnamese Culture Show. All events feature talented student volunteers as singers, actors, and dancers. We also invite students to participate in our medical Vietnamese elective each quarter, which provide interactive learning of a very useful and elegant language. In the past, VSA has also collaborated with other cultural RCO at UCSF to promote diversity and tolerance.

Women in Life Sciences (WILS) is an organization run by UCSF trainees, that is dedicated to supporting women graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and staff at UCSF by organizing networking, mentoring, and career-building activities. Men and women are both welcome to attend all meetings and events.

The Hispanic Dental Association (HDA) is a national, non-profit organization comprised of oral health professionals and students dedicated to promoting and improving the oral health of the Hispanic community. In addition, they provide advocacy for Hispanic oral health professionals across the US. As one of the leading voices for Hispanic oral health in California, the UCSF student chapter of HDA promotes service, health education, advocacy and leadership to strengthen our Hispanic student community at UCSF. To reach this goal, we organize health fairs and mentorship events as well as socials, fundraisers, and community service events. In addition, we partner with the Chicanos/Latinos for Health Education (CHE), an organization where the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Dentistry at UCSF come together to reach our main objective to one day eliminate health disparities in the Bay area.

Twenty high school students come to UCSF each summer to conduct biomedical research under the guidance of a scientist mentor. Program received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in 2011. This program is currently funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Baskin Family Foundation.

This program is offered to resident applicants and to those who attend medical school here at UCSF. Through this program applicants tour UCSF, have lunch with our faculty and Chair, as well as some of the residents prior to attending the campus. The Diversity Day program offered by the Graduate Medical Education Office.