Dr. Melissa Chinchilla is a Project Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; a Health Services Researcher with the VA Greater Los Angeles (GLA) Health System Research Center of Innovation (COIN): Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy; and an Associate Investigator with the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Center on Enhancing Community Integration for Homeless Veterans (THRIVe). Prior to joining the VA, Dr. Chinchilla was a Research Scientist with AltaMed Health Service’s Institute for Health Equity, one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the nation, serving over 400,000 low-income patients in Southern California.
Dr. Chinchilla’s research focuses on the social determinants of health, with an emphasis on housing and homelessness. She has conducted research on the community integration outcomes of formerly homeless Veterans housed through VA’s largest homeless program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-VA Supportive Housing (VASH). Her research also focuses on increasing our understanding of Latinx homelessness including barriers to homeless services connection and culturally relevant engagement strategies. Her work has been published in various journals including Cityscape, the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, and the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. She previously served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, one of the largest continuums of care in the nations.
Dr. Chinchilla earned her doctorate in Urban Studies and Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holds a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley. She is a Los Angeles native.
Dr. Melissa Chinchilla is a Project Scientist in the Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; a Health Services Researcher with the VA Greater Los Angeles Health System Research Center of Innovation: Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation, and Policy; and an Associate Investigator with the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Center on Enhancing Community Integration for Homeless Veterans. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health, with an emphasis on housing and homelessness. Among other work, her research examines Latinx homelessness including barriers to homeless services connection and culturally relevant engagement strategies. Dr. Chinchilla earned her doctorate in Urban Studies and Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holds a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of City and Regional Planning from University of California, Berkeley.