Melinda is a Pediatric Neurology resident at UCSF. She currently serves as chief resident for diversity equity and inclusion within the neurology residency and outpatient clinic chief at UCSF Mission Bay and San Francisco General Pediatric Neurology clinics. She is enthusiastic about working towards creative, cross-disciplinary strategies to address health disparities, chronic care management and childhood trauma. Melinda is an alumnus of UC Irvine School of Medicine, where she developed her passion in pediatrics as an avid volunteer with children’s organizations. She also conducted research evaluating the use of dance as a rehabilitation strategy for children with cerebral palsy, and implemented a novel medical education curriculum on trauma-informed care that has been presented to trainees across the state. Prior to medical school, Melinda completed her undergraduate studies in biology, dance and music, and a Master’s degree at UC San Diego in stress neurobiology studying the gut-microbiome’s regulation of mood, learning and memory. She intends to pursue fellowship in pediatric epilepsy at Children's Hospital of Orange County/UC Irvine beginning in July 2025.