Santa Ana, California

Principal Investigator
Julie Vu, MD, MPH, CPI has extensive medical experience with over 20 years of medical and clinical research and several research publications. She received her combined degree (medical/masters in public health) at St. Georges University School of Medicine and completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Alameda Health System-Highland Hospital, a University of California San Francisco (UCSF) affiliate. Dr. Vu is board-certified in Internal Medicine as well as a certified Principal Investigator. She has conducted numerous trials from Phase I-IV in a diverse range of indications with a special interest in diabetes/endocrinology, gastroenterology, nephrology, and vaccines.

Principal Investigator
Tshekedi Dennis, MD is a board-certified Psychiatrist who has over 10 years of research experience as an Investigator and over 20 years in clinical medicine. He has conducted dozens of studies in indications such as Depressive Disorders, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), General Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Dementia, Addiction, and more. Dr. Dennis has received recognition as a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and as a past recipient of the Faculty of the Year award from the UCLA-Kern Medical Center. In the Southern California community, Dr. Dennis is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry & Neuroscience at UCR SOM (University of California Riverside School of Medicine). He continues to be active with patient care as well as psychiatry education and training.

Principal Investigator
Stanley Hsia, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, and a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is board certified in Internal Medicine as well as Endocrinology and Metabolism, and is a consultant endocrinologist for the Diabetes Clinic at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center. He has also served as a program director for residents and endocrinology fellows, and as a clerkship director for the Drew/UCLA medical students. Dr. Hsia has been conducting clinical research over the past 13 years, including both industry and investigator-initiated trials, and has been funded by grants from National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association. He has also published original research, book chapters, review papers and CME programs on the management of lipid disorders, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus.

Site Manager
Minie Mercado, LVN, is a highly seasoned research professional. She has conducted studies from Phase 1-4 for the past 25 years. Some of her experience includes CNS, Metabolic, and Liver Disease. Prior to Velocity, she was head of NASH Research with a local Hepatology center.