General Contact Information
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Program Coordinator & Academic Counselor: Brian Flores
Advising Appointments: Advising meetings will be by appointment via Zoom
Students may schedule an appointment via MyUCLA.
Academic Advising Schedule and Information(Effective Summer 2025):
Virtual Drop-In Advising
Virtual Drop-In Advising conducted via Zoom:
Day and Time: Mondays, 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
CaSB offers drop-in advising virtually starting SUMMER 2025. The virtual drop-in session will be from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM every Monday, given that the CaSB advisor is available. The Zoom meeting information is sent out every Monday morning before 10:30 AM to confirm that CaSB will be conducting virtual drop-ins. If CaSB will not be offering virtual drop-ins on a given Monday, then a cancellation announcement will be made instead. CaSB will either send students the Zoom invite link OR an announcement cancelling virtual drop-ins via BruinLearn every Monday before 10:30 AM. Since the CaSB undergraduate advisor will be managing the waiting room and seeing students, sometimes communication with the waiting room can be difficult. We have automated messages that are sent to the waiting room when 1. a student joins, and 2. when drop-ins are at capacity and seeing the CaSB advisor is unlikely. As long as a student joins and fills out the sign-in sheet, which they will receive the link to in the waiting room, before 2:00 PM, a student is likely to be able to see the CaSB academic advisor.
Seeing the CaSB academic advisor during the virtual drop-in window is not dependent on the time the student joins. Instead, a student must join the waiting room to receive the sign-up sheet. The sign-up sheet determines the order students will meet with the CaSB academic advisor.
Remote(Zoom) 1:1 Advising Appointments:
Remote(Zoom) 1:1 Advising Appointments can be booked by students via MyUCLA.
CaSB Academic Advisor Remote Advising Appointment Availability (subject to change):
Tuesday: 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM; 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Remote)
Wednesday: 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM (Remote)
Thursday: 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM; 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM (Remote)
Friday: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM (Remote)
IDP Staff and Faculty Leaders:
Manager of Graduate Programs & Student Services: Denise Lopez
Director of Academic Programs & Student Services: Eileen Mansoorian
Chief Administrative Officer: Shannon McClenton
Director: Professor Noa Pinter-Wollman
Vice Chair: Professor Xia Yang
For more detailed contact information, please visit the CaSB contact page.
Dear Students,
Welcome to the Computational and Systems Biology Interdepartmental program, the home of the Computational Biology major.
Biology is experiencing a revolution and you are part of it! We are in an era of data abundance, fueled by powerful technologies, including sequencing of entire genomes, imaging millions of cells in an organ, and remote sensing of large-scale ecological processes. This explosion of information requires quantitative minds to lead the biological discoveries that will improve human health and advance important data-based policies that will shape the future of human societies.
The mission of the Computational and Systems Biology (CaSB) IDP is to lead this revolution and train the next generation of scientists who will harness the power of computation to solve the most pressing biological challenges of our time. Our program is designed to provide you with a strong foundation in biology, computation, and data science, to prepare you for the future in which interdisciplinary training is required for transforming our understanding of biological systems.
The Computational Biology major offers a flexible and interdisciplinary curriculum that allows you to tailor your education to your specific interests. Our lower-division requirements will provide you with a solid grounding in biology, mathematics, and computer science. From there, you can choose one of our specialized upper-division tracks in Bioinformatics, Biological Data Sciences, or Dynamical Modeling.
Meaningful research experience is one of the cornerstones of the major. Research is not only conducted at the university. The innovation of therapies to improve human health, development of new tools in industry, analysis of data to establish impactful policies, and most importantly, the development of critical thinking and executive skills, all rely on strong research skills. At CaSB we prioritize providing you with research opportunities to develop these transferable skills and make you competitive in the job market.
If you are passionate about biology and excited by the prospect of using data to make groundbreaking discoveries, then the Computational Biology major at UCLA is the place for you. Welcome to our community!
Professor Noa Pinter-Wollman
Director of the Computational and Systems Biology Interdisciplinary Program
