Dr. Rafael Bejar, MD, PhD, is board-certified in internal medicine, oncology, and hematology, with a special interest in hematologic malignancies (blood cancers). He specializes in the care of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and related blood disorders. Dr. Bejar has established a MDS Center of Excellence at UC San Diego Health focused on providing the best diagnostic tools, supportive care, clinical trials, and medical expertise in one center. 

Dr. Bejar is a physician scientist who in addition to caring for patients, runs a research laboratory dedicated to the study of MDS. His focus is to discover disease features that can be used to personalize the care of patients with MDS.

Dr. Bejar completed his internal medicine residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he was later a chief medical resident. He then received his fellowship training in hematology and oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He earned his medical degree and PhD at UC San Diego School of Medicine. 

Outside of work, Dr. Bejar enjoys spending time with his wife and three boys. He can also be found riding his bicycle or scuba diving off the San Diego coast.

Hi, I am the lab manager for Bejar Lab.  I received my degrees in Chemistry and Economics from the University of Utah in 2013. While studying at the University of Utah I became interested in protein folding dynamics and gained experience working in a lab focused on the study of intrinsically unstructured proteins.  Once I completed my undergraduate degree, I worked for a couple of biotechnology company's where I assisted with the development of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, which sparked my interest in cancer biology and genetics. Here in the Bejar Lab, I manage the laboratory, coordinate specimen acquisition for the biobank, and study cell lines containing mutations common to MDS.

When I’m not in the lab I enjoy cooking, gardening, hanging out at the beach and exploring San Diego.

I'm a PharmD/PhD student halfway done with Pharmacy school and currently in my 4th year of PhD work in the Bejar lab in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. I spent my undergrad at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where I graduated in 2011 with a degree in Biochemistry. While at Cal Poly I was interested in the process of drug discovery, and I worked in a lab that focused on finding novel inhibitors to enzyme targets in Helicobacter pylori. I became really interested in cancer biology and the effect of genetic variation on drug response during my first and second years of Pharmacy school. Currently, I'm working on a project aiming to better understand why some patients benefit more from epigenetic therapy than others, and how we can predict which patients will see a benefit.

When I'm not in the lab I enjoy seeing live music in the city, surfing at Scripps Pier, and camping and hiking in the mountains.

I am originally from the Midwest where I completed my undergraduate and medical training but moved out West for my hematology/oncology fellowship. I am currently a fourth-year fellow at UCSD and am interested in myeloid disorders.

I enjoy running, hiking, and traveling in my free time.

ALUMNI