Santa Ana, California

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.

Principal Investigator
John Nelson, PA-C is a skilled Physician Assistant with over 20 years of medical and clinical research experience in a variety of indications such as Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care, Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Infectious Disease, Emergency Medicine, and Geriatrics. He obtained his Physician Assistant certification from the USC School of Medicine. John currently serves as a Sub-Investigator for multiple Velocity sites in the LA area and is a member of the California Academy of Physician Assistants.

Principal Investigator

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.