UCLA Professor Pledged Loyalty to Jeffrey Epstein

A UCLA neurology professor pledged loyalty to Jeffrey Epstein as the convicted pedophile prepared his guilty plea in 2007, then maintained contact for over a decade while his institute received foundation grants. Recently released documents from the House Oversight Committee expose how Mark Tramo, an associate adjunct professor, emailed support to Epstein, referencing a shared Bronx bond and promising loyalty “through thick and thin.” Tramo’s Institute for Music and Brain Science received funding from Epstein’s foundation between 2010 and 2012, years after Epstein’s initial conviction, highlighting the broader pattern of academic elites maintaining ties and accepting financial support from the disgraced financier.

Story Overview

UCLA’s Mark Tramo emailed support to Epstein in 2007, calling themselves “boys from The Bronx” who stay loyal “through thick and thin.”
Tramo continued communications until 2018, offering to analyze political interactions for the convicted sex offender
His Institute for Music and Brain Science received grants from Epstein’s foundation between 2010-2012
The House Oversight Committee released 50,000+ pages of Epstein documents exposing academic ties

Professor’s Loyalty During Criminal Proceedings

Mark Tramo, UCLA associate adjunct professor of neurology, demonstrated unwavering support for Jeffrey Epstein during the financier’s darkest legal hour. In 2007, as Epstein negotiated his guilty plea for soliciting prostitution from a minor, Tramo emailed Epstein’s assistant pledging allegiance. The message referenced their shared Bronx origins, declaring that “boys from The Bronx stay true to their friends through thick and thin (no less peccadilloes).” This communication occurred after Epstein’s 2006 indictment but before his 2008 conviction and 13-month imprisonment.

Tramo’s background traces to Harvard Medical School in the 1990s, where then-Provost Harvey Fineberg introduced him to Epstein. The professor later founded the Institute for Music and Brain Science, which became a recipient of Epstein VI Foundation funding. This academic connection exemplifies how Epstein cultivated relationships within prestigious institutions, leveraging his wealth to maintain influence even amid criminal proceedings.

UCLA brain doc emailed Epstein ‘boys from The Bronx … stay true’ as pedophile planned guilty plea — then kept chatting for years https://t.co/bYgddjw2KU pic.twitter.com/87lFsmtJ2e

— New York Post (@nypost) December 24, 2025

Sustained Contact Despite Conviction

The relationship extended far beyond Epstein’s legal troubles, spanning over a decade of documented interactions. House Oversight Committee documents reveal a 2017 Skype schedule entry including Tramo, demonstrating continued professional contact. Most notably, Tramo sent a 2018 email to Epstein offering to analyze a Kanye West-Trump interaction, specifically noting it was “given your interest in Creativity.” These communications occurred years after Epstein’s conviction became public knowledge.

Between 2010 and 2012, Tramo’s Institute for Music and Brain Science received grants from the Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation, though UCLA maintains no records of these gifts. The timing of this funding, occurring after Epstein’s conviction and release, raises questions about academic institutions’ vetting processes for donors with criminal backgrounds. Student reactions at UCLA have been mixed, with some expressing discomfort while others dismiss the connections as typical academic networking.

Elite Academic Networks Under Scrutiny

The revelations highlight a broader pattern of academic complicity within elite institutions that prioritized funding over moral accountability. Epstein systematically cultivated relationships with Harvard and other prestigious universities, funding research projects worth hundreds of thousands of dollars while seeking academic legitimacy. The newly released documents expose how convicted sex offenders can maintain influence through financial leverage, even after legal consequences.

This case represents a fundamental breach of institutional integrity that should concern every American parent sending children to these universities. When professors maintain loyalty to convicted pedophiles and accept funding from their foundations, it reveals how academic elites operate by different moral standards than ordinary citizens. The fact that these communications continued for years after Epstein’s conviction demonstrates a troubling disregard for the safety and values that should guide educational institutions.

Watch: A million more docs potentially related to Epstein found, DOJ says