“Our vision is to make these programs part of UC San Diego’s long-term identity,” said Trejo. “FIRST has given us the foundation. Now we’re working to embed these practices into the fabric of UC San Diego so that every new faculty member has the support they need to thrive from day one until retirement.”
On-the-ground impact
For the faculty hired through the FIRST program, the most significant benefits have been intangible. Several members of the cohort describe the experience as transformative — both personally and professionally — because of the community and structured support the program provides.
“As a new faculty member, you’re often the most junior person in a department, and it’s easy to feel isolated,” said Melissa Campbell, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of the FIRST cohort. “Because we’re all in the same phase of our careers, it’s very different from being the lone junior hire. Here, we can talk openly about what we’re dealing with and help each other through challenges that are unique to this moment in science.”
Campbell said the program fills critical gaps that new faculty frequently experience — especially when navigating the transition to independence.
“Being in FIRST means there are people thinking about you and making sure you have what you need to succeed,” she said. “You get peer mentorship, which is invaluable, and then you get formalized senior mentorship where people are really paying attention. I feel incredibly well set up.”
These benefits extend to the lab as well. Adrian Jinich, PhD, an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said the program’s support has already shaped the trajectory of his research group.
“I was the first person recruited through FIRST, and thanks to the support network and startup resources, I was able to hire my ideal senior research associate right away,” he said. “We were also able to collaborate with campus researchers to build a GPU computing cluster that’s now central to our AI-driven infectious disease research. That infrastructure exists because of FIRST.”
Above all, Jinich emphasized that the program’s design — pairing cohort-building with structured professional development — are central to its positive impact on faculty.
“You feel surrounded by this cocoon of support in every direction,” he said. “The leadership is outstanding, the peer community is outstanding, and the whole thing is clearly designed to help us succeed.”