Dr. Angela Venegas-Murillo (Charles R. Drew University Scholar) completed her residency in Social Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. She earned her undergraduate degree with a major in psychobiology and minor in Spanish from UCLA. She obtained her medical degree from Stanford University and MPH in Epidemiology from UC Berkeley. During medical school, Dr. Venegas–Murillo went to Oaxaca, Mexico where she helped performed a needs assessment, and conducted a resource and hazard mapping study to understand local health issues. She later collaborated with a local community organization in Central California to better understand the plight of accessing interpretation services by indigenous Mexican migrants. During residency, she turned her focus on access to confidential care by urban adolescents and local advocacy for fair chance hiring.

Career Interests: Dr. Venegas-Murillo has a strong interest in health care policy regarding community safety, juvenile justice and mental health care access. She plans to dedicate her career towards the health care needs of her hometown of South Central Los Angeles.

Research Interests: As a Scholar, she would like to focus on developing effective methods of reducing violence and recidivism among youth in impoverished communities. In particular, she would like to study the effectiveness of juvenile justice re-entry programs and assess the needs of the community for improved access to mental health services before and after a conviction.