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School of Biological Sciences School of Biological Sciences
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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

SIS South door is open for Core hours 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1–3 p.m. Monday through Thursday. All staff work remotely on Friday.

Location

Pacific Hall, First Floor

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
dbrehm@ucsd.edu
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
nnoles@ucsd.edu
Daily operation, administration and management of graduate student and instructional services.
Melody Bazyar
Ph.D. Program Coordinator
mbazyar@ucsd.edu
Ph.D. student advising, Ph.D. thesis committees/defense, evaluations, first year rotations, graduate curriculum, student progress tracking.
Philip Durkee
B.S./M.S. Coordinator
pjdurkee@ucsd.edu
B.S./M.S. program advising, M.S. admissions, evaluation and progress tracking, M.S. student event organization.
Jeannette Fox
B.S./M.S. Coordinator
j4fox@ucsd.edu
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
tguidinger@ucsd.edu
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
lnngo@ucsd.edu
Graduate student support planning and analysis, student and faculty financial advising, training grant coordination.
TBD
Financial Assistant
Graduate student support processing, student financial advising, graduate student travel, verification letters/forms.

Instructional Assistant Program

Jasmin Jefferson
IA Program & Staffing Coordinator
jmjefferson@ucsd.edu
Administrative coordination of the Instructional Assistant program: GIA, TA, Tutor, UGIA, Reader.
Megan Varela
IA Program & Staffing Coordinator
mvarela@ucsd.edu
Administrative coordination of the Instructional Assistant program: GIA, TA, Tutor, UGIA, Reader.

Undergraduate Advising Services

Laura Majoch
Manager, Undergraduate Advising
lmajoch@ucsd.edu
Daily operation, administration, and management of the advising unit.
Vanesa de Boer
Advisor
vdeboer@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Phage Genomics Program.
Brian Hamlett
Advisor
bhamlett@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: TBD
Katie Liakos
Advisor
kliakos@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Major/Minor Tool Administration.
Camille Sta Elena
Advisor
cstaelena@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Honors Thesis Program (BISP 196).
Haille Thomas
Advisor
hmthomas@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: TBD
Julie Vitale
Advisor
jbvitale@ucsd.edu
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: Capped Major Application administration.
TBD
Advisor
Undergraduate advising. Special area of oversight: TBD

Instructional Services and Student Enrichment

Matthew Haack
Manager, Instructional Services
mhaack@ucsd.edu
Daily operation, administration, and management of the instructional unit.
Cara Esgro
Instructional Scheduling Coordinator
cesgro@ucsd.edu
Responsible for undergraduate and graduate course scheduling and related processes.
Lindsay Ward
Student Accommodations Coordinator
l1ward@ucsd.edu
Responsible for coordination of accommodation for students with disabilities as documented with OSD.
Isabela Ibarra
Student Services Advisor
imibarra@ucsd.edu
Front desk/intake advising. Provide general administrative support to the Student Services unit. Specialized advising duties and participation in student engagement administration.