In her role as Assistant Director for Inclusive Initiatives, Letty helps coordinate recruitment and support of diverse and underrepresented graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in our bioscience programs. In this position, she works closely with the Director for Recruitment and Inclusion for Graduate Programs in Bioscience, Diana Azurdia, and the Director of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs, Lynn Talton.
Letty is a UCLA graduate alum who has years of experience working with the Graduate Student Resource Center (GSRC), Graduate Student Orientation (GSO), CIRTL, the Division of Graduate Education, and the Academic Senate. In her own words, she’s a “Professional Bureaucracy Navigator”. Letty has made it her job to understand complex systems made up of policy, procedure, and relationships. She identifies as a first-generation graduate, queer Latina, immigrant, and person with disabilities, whose passion lies in working towards building a more inclusive and accessible university.
As Director of Bioscience Postdoctoral Affairs in the David Geffen School of Medicine, Dr. Talton is committed to ensuring a positive postdoctoral training environment and fostering the successful professional development of UCLA’s biomedical and life scientists. Dr. Talton promotes a successful bioscience training environment by developing career training activities targeted to advanced degree holders, leading training programs in grant-writing, teaching, and biomedical research ethics, and advocating for postdoctoral scholars within the university and beyond. As a UCLA former postdoctoral scholar, and now instructor and administrator for PhD trainees, Dr. Talton has first-hand experience in the challenges of postdoctoral education and career building and the types of issues and experiences challenging UCLA’s trainees today. As Program Coordinator for IRACDA@UCLA, Dr. Talton manages recruitment and interviews, oversees training requirements, facilitates some of the instructional and professional development training for IRACDA fellows, and coordinates program logistics.
In addition to her administrative roles, Dr. Talton teaches MIMG C234 – Ethics and Integrity in Biomedical Research and the RCR Refresher Course, the primary responsible conduct in research and biomedical ethics courses for the basic biosciences. She leads a grant-writing group for NIH Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships; directs a teaching training program designed to give postdocs the opportunity to observe, co-lead discussions, and participate in course planning; and is an NRMN/CIMER Entering Mentoring trained facilitator co-leading mentor training for postdocs and faculty in the biosciences.