Jessica Faraj

Biography

Jessica Faraj, M.D., is a Pediatrician at UC Irvine Family Health Center and Pediatric Assistant Clerkship Director at UCI School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at UCLA in the Public Health & Primary Care track, training at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center, Miller Children's Hospital, and Olive View Medical Center, with continuity clinic at Venice Family Clinic. During her residency, she volunteered as a pediatrician conducting health assessments for over 1,500 unaccompanied migrant youth at the Emergency Intake Shelter at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Faraj received her M.D. from the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and her B.A. in Health and Human Biology, Magna Cum Laude, from Brown University. She was selected as one of ten graduate students from Southern California to receive the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, a nationally recognized leadership development program designed to train healthcare professionals to be leaders in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations. Through this fellowship, she developed "Cocinando Saludable," a community service project in partnership with the UCI Family Health Center aimed at empowering low-income Hispanic families to make informed decisions about their diet and lifestyles.

Faraj's work focuses on pediatric primary care and health equity, with particular emphasis on serving underserved populations. She has developed educational programs ranging from bilingual virtual teaching kitchens promoting healthy eating to sex education curricula for high schools with high teen pregnancy rates. Prior to medical school, she served as a Community Mobilization Coordinator with AmeriCorps VISTA at Boston Medical Center's Vital Village Network, conducting community-based participatory research assessing neighborhood connectivity in inner city Boston. She is board certified in Pediatrics and maintains medical professional proficiency in Spanish.

Education

• M.D., University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, 2020
• B.A. in Health and Human Biology, Brown University, 2015

Distinctions

• Honors in Biology Department, Brown University, 2015
• Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, 2019
• Magna Cum Laude, Brown University, 2015
• American Academy of Pediatrics Legislative Conference Scholarship, 2019
• LA Care Elevating the Safety Net Residency Support Program Grant Recipient, 2020