Melinda Maggard Gibbons, MD, MSHS

Dr. Maggard-Gibbons is the Special Advisor for Clinical Professionalism in the DGSOM Dean's Office. She is also an accomplished academic surgeon with a long-standing record of excellence in clinical care, research, teaching, and leadership. She received her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Washington and her M.D. from Harvard Medical School. She completed her general surgery residency at UCLA and went on to earn a Master of Science in Health Services through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program. She is a general surgeon with a busy clinical practice that includes the treatment of breast cancer and acute care surgery. She works closely with the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) leadership in her role overseeing the JCCC/Olive View-UCLA Breast Cancer Navigation Program. Her research interests include surgical quality improvement, disparities in care, patient navigation, survivorship, and developing appropriateness measures for surgical care. She serves as a Governor of the American College of Surgeons, and she is a current member of UCLA’s Faculty Executive Committee. 

With more than two decades of commitment to faculty development, Dr. Maggard-Gibbons serves in leadership roles on both the Department of Surgery’s Appointment and Promotions (A&P) Committee and the Surgical Committee for Appointments and Promotions (SurgCAP). She recently assumed the inaugural role of Vice Chair for Academic Affairs for the Department of Surgery (June 2023). In this position, she works closely with department leadership, division chiefs, and vice chairs. She helps mentor faculty on academic development, including understanding the requirements for appointment and promotion across university faculty series. She is dedicated to supporting faculty success and growth.