Applications Due
September 30th, 2023
Dulce Madrid
310-206-6721
DVMadrid@mednet.ucla.edu
COVID-19 Information
UCLA Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Fellows
2023 - 2024
First Year Fellows
Oby Ekwueme, MD, MPH
Hometown: Medford, WI
Education: University of Notre Dame (BA), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (MD, MPH)
Residency: Yale University Department of Psychiatry
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, going to musicals/plays, reading comedian autobiographies (highly recommend Issa Rae’s), listening to music, and binge watching anything Netflix recommends.
Professional Interests: I am passionate about the impact of racism on the mental health of minoritized children, school based mental health programs, psychotherapy, and trauma-informed care, but the most exciting part will be to find new interests as I progress through fellowship!
What I’m looking forward to most: Joining this wonderful community and exploring a new, exciting city!
Kathleen Lopez, MD
Hometown: San Fernando, California
Education: Pacific Union College (BS), Loma Linda University (MD)
Residency: University of California, Riverside
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy spending time with my family, taking walks, wine tasting, brunch, horror movies, board games, binging cooking shows, and crocheting cute summer outfits for me and my friends!
Professional Interests: school based mental health, maternal-infant mental health, community psychiatry
What I’m looking forward to most: I am looking forward to improving my psychotherapy skills, learning to provide families with tools for handling mental health crises, meeting like minded people who are passionate about child psychiatry, and learning from some of the top clinicians in the field.
Rubi Luna, MD
Hometown: SF Bay Area and Monterrey, Nuevo León
Education: Johns Hopkins University (BA), University of California, San Francisco (MD)
Residency: University of California, San Francisco (Adult, Cultural Psychiatry Area of Distinction)
Hobbies/Outside Interests: Dancing, traveling, and learning to cook. I’m a big fan of Zumba and social dancing. I also love spending time in nature and exploring SoCal with my friends and family!
Professional Interests: Neurodevelopmental disorders in vulnerable populations, maternal and infant mental health, consultation-liaison psychiatry, crisis intervention and community psychiatry. I’m also interested in physician advocacy and organization for social justice and mental health equity.
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: My favorite part is the nurturing culture of the program that makes me feel at home! I’m excited to learn and to grow alongside a warm and talented group of colleagues who share a passion for serving children and their families.
Karen Marianela Mendez, MD
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Education: University of California, Los Angeles (BS), David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (MD)
Residency: UCLA Semel Institute
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, exploring new parks with my toddler and puppy, hiking, going to concerts, and trying new restaurants. When time allows, I love traveling and learning about different cultures.
Professional Interests: I am interested in maternal-infant mental health, early childhood development and different forms of psychotherapy, particularly family therapy.
What I’m looking forward to most: I am looking forward to connecting, building memories and growing alongside such a diverse and outstanding group of people in our child and adolescent psychiatry department.
Frances (Franco) Pillsbury, MD, MBS, MPP
Hometown: Santa Rosa Valley, California
Education: UC Berkeley (BA), Harvard University (MPP), Keck Graduate Institute (MBS), Keck School of Medicine of USC (MD)
Residency: NYU Langone/Bellevue
Hobbies/Outside Interests: improv comedy, philosophy, creative writing, hiking
Professional Interests: child welfare systems (foster care and juvenile justice), health policy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, school-based mental health
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: I can’t pick just one – I love the people and the wide array of clinical experiences, as well as the constant opportunities to work closely with psychology (our respective training programs are deeply intertwined). It’s also inspiring being in a class of such accomplished women. I’m so proud of them already, and can’t wait to see where their careers take them!
Mary F. Youssef, MD, PhD
Hometown: San Fernando Valley, CA
Education: UCLA (BS), Columbia University (MD, PhD)
Residency: UCLA Semel Institute
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy exploring new parts of LA, traveling, cooking, walking around in nature, going to the gym, and most importantly, spending time with my friends and family.
Professional Interests: I am curious about how personality and character structure develop, ie. how people become who they are. I want to focus on therapy and working with families to help children, adults, and families understand themselves and their experiences and navigate their lives in more healthy ways.
What I’m looking forward to most: Continuing to be part of the wonderful community of UCLA Psychiatry where I have felt at home for the last few years. I already feel the love and warmth from my co-fellows, attendings, and program leadership.
Second Year Fellows
Tashalee Brown, MD, PhD
Hometown: Bronx, NY
Residency: Washington University in St Louis
Hobbies/Outside Interests: Cooking, biking, art
Professional Interests: My research focuses on the social determinants of the mental health of youth, the role of racism in perpetuating racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care, and the implementation of evidence-based antiracism interventions in psychiatry.
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: Collaborating with and being inspired by the dynamic scholarly community at UCLA.
Rahael Gupta, MD, MS
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Education: Stanford University (BA),
Columbia University (MS),
University of Michigan (MD)
Residency: UCLA Semel Institute
Hobbies/Outside Interests: spending time with my best friends and family, exploring the LA food scene, watching movies/theater/shows and pretending I’m a critic, writing, taking care of my small army of house plants
Professional Interests: media and entertainment as a medium for providing education about mental health, psychotherapy (individual and family), trauma-informed care
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: The family vibe! It’s a beautiful, unmistakable thing. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to hone my skills as a clinician and engage with my passions in such a supportive environment.
Ashley Hite, MD
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Education: Washington University (BA),
University of Chicago (MD)
Residency: UCLA Semel Institute
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I enjoy hanging with my family who visits all the time from the Midwest especially in the winter when they are trying to escape the snow. I also love shopping, watching TV and going to the movies (can’t miss $5 Tuesdays)! You can also catch me exploring the beaches in California and enjoying all the food LA has to offer. I also love playing and watching basketball and football. Go Warriors!
Professional Interests: maternal-infant mental health, school-based mental health, medical education, early-onset psychosis
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: I was so excited to be a part of this program due to it truly feeling like home. As a resident I got to experience firsthand the supportive mentorship, work with the friendly and diverse fellows and highly esteemed faculty. The collaborative and nuturing environment drew me to the program as a space for me to continue to learn and grow as a fellow. Also, I love maternal-infant mental health so this was truly the perfect fit for me!
Neel Lalkiya, MD
Hometown: Vestal, NY
Education: Northwestern University (BA),
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell (MD)
Residency: New York University
Hobbies/Outside Interests: Cooking, food-hopping with my wife, hiking, travelling, exercising, tennis (or any other racket sport really)
Professional Interests: Interdisciplinary psychiatry (i.e. exploring the intersection between architecture/design and psychiatry), systems-based practice of psychiatry, cultural psychiatry, medical education
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: The people! The vibe of the program and community is awesome and incredibly supportive. On top of that, I will get to train under some of the most renowned child psychiatrists in the world!
Jennifer Manegold, MD
Hometown: East Bay, CA
Education: University of California, San Diego (BS, MS),
UCLA (MD)
Residency: UCLA Semel Institute
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I love exploring LA and its many neighborhoods: everything from eating at the best taco shops and ramen spots, celebrating jacaranda season, hiking and beach-going, to catching live music at MacArthur Park or the Hollywood Bowl. When feeling less adventurous, I enjoy lounging at home, making and eating pasta, and getting the most out of my HBO subscription.
Professional interests: maternal-infant mental health, early life adversity and trauma, family therapy, social and structural determinants of health
Favorite part of being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: I love the supportive community of incredibly accomplished yet down-to-earth people with inspiring dedication to their patients. It’s the best place to learn and grow with tremendous support from faculty, staff, and trainees, all in the vibrant city of Los Angeles!
Nichole Roxas, MD, MPH
Hometown: Bergenfield, NJ
Education: New York University (BA),
Harvard University (MPH),
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (MD)
Residency: Yale University (Adult, Public Psychiatry Fellowship)
Hobbies/Outside Interests: reading, podcasts, dancing, felting, embroidery, singing to my plants, cooking, baking, rewatching Avatar the Last Air Bender and Schitt’s Creek, walking meditations, spending quality time with loved ones and just being present with nature
Professional Interests: public psychiatry, street psychiatry, structural determinants of health, trauma-informed care, psychotherapy
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: Being in community with such kind and warm humans
Morrison Steel, MD, MSc
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Education: University of Toronto (BSc, MSc),
Central Michigan University (MD)
Residency: University of California, San Diego
Hobbies/Outside Interests: While I’ve been practicing karate and classical piano since the age of 5, I became OBSESSED with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in residency, (somehow) winning a silver medal in an international competition after foot surgery. I also love lifting weights, eating mac n cheese, and reading about history, philosophy, and science fiction.
Professional Interests: Eating disorders, anxiety disorders and OCD, school consultation, psychopharmacology, teaching and leadership
Favorite part about being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: Since my interview day, I have been struck by the immensely warm and nurturing environment fostered at UCLA. Fellow education and wellness are clearly equal priorities. It is a true pleasure to join a professional family that is so talented and genuinely passionate about healing children and families.
Second Year Research Track Fellow
José M. Flores, MD, PhD
Hometown: Born in Loja, Ecuador. Grew up in Elizabeth, NJ. Both are home to me.
Education: Penn State University (BS),
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (MPH, PhD),
John Hopkins School of Medicine (MD)
Residency: Yale University (Residency, Addiction Fellowship)
Hobbies/Outside Interests: I play guitar badly but I have way too much fun to stop, I love hanging out with my two nieces (Julieta and Maria Victoria), I love to travel in Latin America, I’ve been to Africa once and I can’t wait to return and travel to other continents.
Professional Interests: interventions for the treatment of substance use disorders in youth including experimental and statistical methodology
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: I felt very welcome and supported even before arriving to UCLA, and I am beyond excited to see what the next three years will bring. In terms of my research goals, all I have felt is a collaborative tone and people who are paying close attention to my unique career goals. Faculty have reached out to me frequently to see how I’m doing and to discuss how to get to the next step. These are key aspects of any clinical and research fellowship. The Faculty I’ve met are wonderful and have my best interests in mind, as a person, as a physician and as a researcher. I feel a heartfelt sense of appreciation and respect for them.
Madeline Jansen, MD, MPH
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Education: Stanford University (BA),
Tulane University (MD/MPH)
Residency: Washington University
Hobbies/Outside Interests: hiking, crafts, board/card games, reality television
Professional Interests: community-based prevention, digital health, psychosocial interventions, health disparities, adolescent development, psychotherapy
Favorite Part of Being a UCLA Child Psychiatry Fellow: I was drawn to UCLA by the opportunity to do research in my area of interest and be mentored by experts in the field. I was inspired by the dedication and warmth of the leadership and wanted to be part of this community.
