Student and Instructional Services

The Student and Instructional Services Office provides advising services to students as well as instruction-based support services to faculty.

Undergraduate Contact

Phone: (858) 534-0557
Non-UCSD students: biousis@ucsd.edu
Current UCSD students: Virtual Advising Center
Student Engagement: dobio@ucsd.edu
Instructional Assistants: biota@ucsd.edu

Graduate Contact

PhD Program: biogradprog@ucsd.edu
PhD Admissions: biophdadmissions@ucsd.edu
Prospective & Current MS students: Virtual Advising Center
Instructional Assistants: biota@ucsd.edu

Hours

Monday-Friday
8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:30pm

Closed
Tuesdays 8:00am-1:00pm

Location

Pacific Hall, First Floor
Undergraduate (south side)
Graduate (north side)

Mailing Address

University of California, San Diego
Division of Biological Sciences
9500 Gilman Drive #0348
La Jolla, CA 92093-0348

Staff

Dana Brehm: Director, Student and Instructional Services

Oversight of the Student and Instructional Services (SIS) unit of the Biological Sciences Administrative Core: including both undergraduate and graduate advising services, instructional services, admission and recruitment, the instructional assistant program and student engagement.

Graduate Program (Ph.D. & M.S.)

Natalie Noles: Manager, Graduate Student & Instructional Services

Daily operation, administration and management of graduate student and instructional services.

Melody Bazyar: Ph.D. Program Coordinator

Ph.D. student advising, Ph.D. thesis committees/defense, evaluations, first year rotations, graduate curriculum, student progress tracking.

Jeannette Fox: B.S./M.S. Coordinator

B.S./M.S. program advising, M.S. admissions, evaluation and progress tracking, M.S. student event organization.

Trevor Guidinger: Ph.D. Recruitment and Admissions Coordinator

Ph.D. recruitment and admissions, application inquiries and tracking, admissions analysis, participant in external outreach and recruitment events.

Graduate Financial Support

Lien Ngo: Financial Analyst

Graduate student support planning and analysis, student and faculty financial advising, training grant coordination.

Irish Fontan-Basinga: Financial Assistant

Graduate student support processing, student financial advising, graduate student travel, verification letters/forms.

Instructional Assistant Program

Kathryn Gorman: IA Program & Staffing Coordinator

Administrative coordination of the Instructional Assistant program: GIA, TA, Tutor, UGIA, Reader.

Undergraduate Advising Services

Laura Majoch: Manager, Undergraduate Advising

Daily operation, administration, and management of the advising unit.

Vanesa de Boer: Advisor

Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Phage Genomics Program.

Katie Liakos: Advisor

Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Major/Minor Tool Administration.

Camille Sta Elena: Advisor

Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Honors Thesis Program (BISP 196).

Evan Tucker: Advisor

Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Transfer Information Sessions.

Julie Vitale: Advisor

Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Capped Major Application administration.

Instructional Services and Student Enrichment

Matthew Haack: Manager, Instructional Services

Daily operation, administration, and management of the instructional unit.

Cara Esgro: Instructional Scheduling Coordinator

Responsible for undergraduate and graduate course scheduling and related processes.

Lindsay Ward: Student Accomodations Coordinator

Responsible for coordination of accommodation for students with disabilities as documented with OSD.

Megan Varela: Student Services Advisor

Front desk/intake advising. Provide general administrative support to the Student Services unit. Specialized advising duties and participation in student engagement administration.

Student Engagement Opportunities in Biological Sciences

Jaime Estepa: Student Engagement Coordinator

Support student career exploration and participation in activities such as research, internships, alumni networking, study abroad, and advising for Biological Sciences student organizations.