Specialty: Hematology and Medical Oncology

Background:
Dr. Maria Garcia-Jimenez was born in Jalisco, Mexico and grew up in the Northern Central Valley of California. Her interest in oncology clinical research started while in medical school, where she conducted community based participatory research and cancer health disparities research on quality of life among Latina breast cancer survivors. She also participated in the PRIME-US program. During her residency, she continued health disparities research among Latinx patients with the support of the Rudin Medical Ethics and Humanities Fellowship. She graduated from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine Hematology/Oncology Fellowship program in 2022 where she served as Chief Fellow and began her grant funded work addressing disparities in Latinx representation in therapeutic cancer clinical trials with the support of the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award program. After graduation, she joined the faculty in the Division of Hematology/Oncology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, where her clinical interest will continue with a focus on disparities in clinical trial participation by Latinx and limited English proficiency patients with cancer.

Her clinical interests include breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer as well as disparities in end-of-life care and clinical trial participation for Latinx patients. Through patient care, researcher, leadership, and community engagement she aims to promote cancer care access and self-advocacy among Latinx patients locally, improve participation in clinical trials by racial/ethnic minorities, and enhance relationships between academic institutions and surrounding underrepresented communities.

Research Interests:
Clinical Trials
Cancer Health Disparities
End-of-Life Care Disparities
End-of-Life Care Disparities
Community Based Participatory Research
Implementation Science
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Education:
B.A., Brown University, 2010
M.H.S., University of California Berkeley, 2013
M.D., University of California San Francisco, 2015
Internal Medicine Residency, NYU School of Medicine, 2015-2018
Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 2019-2022

Committees & Administrative Duties:
Co-chair, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinical Trials Equity Advisory Committee
Member, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee
Collaborator, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine GIM Health Services Research
Member, Cancer Support Community Los Angeles Cancer Equity & Diversity Committee
Member, ASCO Trainee & Early Career Advisory Group

Recent Publications & Projects:
García-Jimenez M, Santoyo-Olsson J, Ortiz C, Lahiff M, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Nápoles AM. Acculturation, inner peace, cancer self-efficacy, and self-rated health among Latina breast cancer survivors. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2014 Nov;25(4):1586-602

Nápoles AM, Santoyo-Olsson J, Stewart AL, Ortiz C, García-Jímenez M. Evaluating the Implementation of a Translational Peer-Delivered Stress Management Program for Spanish-Speaking Latina Breast Cancer Survivors. J Cancer Educ. 2018 Aug;33(4):875-884

Garcia-Jimenez M, Calvo-Friedman A, Singer K, Tanner M. Patient Experiences with the Use of Telephone Interpreter Services: An Exploratory, Qualitative Study of Spanish-Speaking Patients at an Urban Community Health Center. Narrat Inq Bioeth. 2019;9(2):149-162

Muggia F, Jimenez MG, Murthy P. Platinum compounds: Their continued impact on ovarian cancer treatment. Inorganica Chimica Acta. 2019 Oct; 496

Interests:
Family time, hiking, biking, audiobooks