Dr. Maria Velez, a clinical instructor in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and member of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been recognized with the National Hispanic Medical Association’s 40 Under 40 Award for her leadership, innovation and commitment to improving patient care and expanding access to clinical trials.
Velez’s research focuses on the design and execution of clinical trials for patients with thoracic and head and neck cancers, as well as identifying and addressing barriers that limit participation among non-English-speaking patients. She studies factors that influence trial enrollment and works to improve how patients are informed about and connected to research studies.
As assistant director of the Clinical Trial Advisory Committee at UCLA, Velez oversees initiatives aimed at broadening participation in clinical trial enrollment. She has published extensively on non-small cell lung cancer and clinical trial inclusion, including a publication in Nature that identified consent translation as a key barrier to enrollment in clinical trials. Through her research and leadership, Velez continues to advance cancer care and expand access to novel treatments for all patient populations.
