Brenda Gutierrez, MD, PhD

OV Intern

Brenda was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She became captivated by the complexity of the nervous system in her high school biology class. She obtained her B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as a Meyerhoff Scholar. Her passion for neuroscience research began during her undergraduate training which motivated her to pursue an MD/PhD at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). At UCI, she was also a part of the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) which prepared her to advocate and serve her community. Brenda’s graduate research focused on understanding the reciprocal communication between human neural stem cells and human endothelial cells so that we can better understand neural stem cell niche regulation and develop better therapies for stroke. She is also passionate about increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in medicine and research, so she started the Equity Committee at her MD/PhD program and planned a virtual MD/PhD DEI summit during her graduate training. Brenda is excited to be a part of the UCLA Neurology family where she will be able to give back to her community and work with talented neurologists!