Christina Orizabal

Biography

Christina Orizabal is a Doctor of Medicine student in the Class of 2028 at California University of Science and Medicine, where she is also a selected scholar in the Global Health Equity MD Scholars Program. She earned her Master of Biomedical Sciences from California University of Science and Medicine and her B.S. in Human Biology with a minor in Medical Humanities from the University of California, Irvine. Orizabal currently serves as a Junior Specialist in the University of California, Irvine Neurology Department under Dr. Tahseen Mozaffar, where she conducts research on depression in patients with Inclusion Body Myositis through the NIH-funded INSPIRE-IBM project.

Orizabal has presented her research on depression in IBM patients at multiple conferences, including the 12th Annual UCI Neuromuscular Colloquium and the 2024 Neuromuscular Study Group Scientific Meeting. Her research experience spans clinical trials and neuromuscular disease research, including work as an Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator at UCI Medical Hospital and as a research assistant in an NIH-funded pediatric clinical trial examining canine-assisted intervention for children with executive function deficiencies. She has also conducted research on predictors of pediatric diabetes mellitus-related hospitalizations.

Orizabal is a native Spanish speaker who has integrated language access and cultural competency into her medical training and service work. She serves as Spanish Chairperson at Colton Free Clinic, where she translates medical encounters and expanded interpreter training to include sociocultural aspects of care. She founded and serves as President of Scouts in Medicine at CUSM, an organization focused on increasing STEM and medical exposure for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. Orizabal holds multiple leadership positions in student organizations, including President of the Wilderness Medicine and Exploration Medicine Interest Group and Treasurer of the Latino Medical Student Association, where she helped establish CUSM LMSA's first national chapter recognition.

Education

• B.S. in Human Biology, University of California, Irvine, 2021
• M.S. in Biomedical Sciences, California University of Science and Medicine, 2023

Distinctions

• CUSM's First Annual Global Health Competition 1st Place Team, 2023
• CUSM's Third Annual Global Health Competition 1st Place Team, 2025
• Global Health Equity MD Scholars Program - Selected Scholar, 2024-2028
• UCI Campus Wide Honors Program Scholarship, 2016-2021
• Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) Scholarship, 2025
• Summer Student Research Program Scholarship, CUSM, 2025
• Scholar of Month Award, Cope Health Scholars Kaiser Permanente, 2022