Newly Appointed Inaugural Associate Dean and Special Advisor for Professionalism

Dear Colleagues, 

We are pleased to announce the appointments of Tara Peris, PhD, as the inaugural Associate Dean for Professionalism of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM), and Melinda Maggard-Gibbons, MD, MSHS, FACS, as the inaugural Special Advisor for Clinical Professionalism for DGSOM, effective May 1, 2025. 

Dr. Peris is a clinician-scientist and Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. She earned her PhD at the University of Virginia and completed an NIMH T32 fellowship at UCLA in child and adolescent mental health before joining the faculty in 2008.

Dr. Peris has served in a number of leadership roles related to faculty development and advancement including Interim Associate Chair for Academic Affairs, Special Advisor to the Chair for Academic Planning, and Chair of the Department’s Recruitment & Retention Committee.  She is currently the Vice Chair for Research for Semel/Psychiatry and the Associate Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In addition, she is the Co-Director of the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, and Tic Disorders Program.

Dr. Peris's research and clinical interests focus on youth anxiety, OCD, and related disorders. Her research examines developmental trajectories of these conditions as well as strategies for optimizing treatment outcome. Dr. Peris's work has been funded continuously since 2007, including funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Patient Centered Research Institute, the National Science Foundation, and several private foundations.  She is the recipient of awards from the American Psychological Association’s Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology and the Brain and Behavior Foundation. She was also a 2024 Fulbright Scholar.

Dr. Maggard-Gibbons is 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. 

Please join us in congratulating Drs. Peris and Maggard-Gibbons on their new positions. 

We thank the members of the search committee, whose names are listed below, for their time and efforts in this search process. 

John Mazziotta, MD, PhD
Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences 
CEO, UCLA Health 

Steven M. Dubinett, MD
Dean, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA

Joaquín (Quim) Madrenas, MD, PhD, FCAHS
Professor of Medicine
Vice Dean for Faculty, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Associate Dean of Professionalism Search Committee: 

• Robert Whittington, MD (Search Committee Chair): Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Mentorship and Recognition; Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
• Robert Cherry, MD, MS, FACS, FACHE: Chief Medical and Quality Officer, UCLA Health; Chief Quality Officer, University of California Health
• Sophie Deng, MD, PhD: Professor; Walton Li Chair in Cornea and Uveitis; Co-Chief, Cornea Division; Vice Chair for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, UCLA Stein Eye Institute
• Jodi Friedman, MD: Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine; Vice Chair for Education, UCLA Department of Medicine
• Gregory Payne, PhD: Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry
• Ryan Pedigo, MD, MHPE: Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine; Residency Program Director, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
• Karen Reue, PhD: Professor and Department Vice Chair, Human Genetics
• Arlene Feliciano: Director of Academic Affairs