Dr. Huang is an Adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine and the Executive Director of the UCLA Simulation Center. Since 2000, her professional career in simulation training has included every role within the simulation center, as a simulation technician, research associate, Operations Director, and Education Director. She has overseen the administration and development of simulation programs; provided curriculum design, instructor training and evaluation; and collaborated on research innovations with clinical educators. She has a Bachelor of Science in Physiological Science from UCLA, a Master of Health Science from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and a Doctor of Education from UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies. She completed a Fellowship in Medical Education and has notable honors including induction as a Fellow in the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSH) Academy, the UCLA Staff Assembly Faculty Staff Partnership Award and the Kaiser-Permanente Award for Excellence in Teaching. She was the first Education Chair for SSH and has presented her work at numerous conferences and mentored new leaders in simulation-based education. Her research interests focus on using qualitative and quantitative methods to explore teaching techniques, including developing training to enhance teamwork, communication and equity, diversity and inclusion. Yue-Ming enjoys food, travel, hiking, outdoor adventures, photography, and performance arts.

Sarah Petro is the Director of Operations at the UCLA Simulation Center. Sarah oversees daily business operations, ensuring that the Simulation Center runs as efficiently as possible while providing effective education to all of its learners. Sarah came to UCLA in December 2016 from the Cleveland Clinic, where she served as manager of the Simulation and Advanced Skills Center. During her tenure there, she helped the Clinic enhance its long-standing reputation for offering world-class education and development to both in-house trainees and medical professionals from around the world. A Cleveland native, Sarah attended Baldwin-Wallace College and graduated Cum Laude with a degree in business marketing and management. Off the clock, you’ll find Sarah practicing Yoga, or browsing the produce selection at her favorite organic grocery store.

Kenneth Lay directs the Standardized Patient (SP) Program which is responsible for teaching and evaluating medical student performance and providing SPs for other educational activities at the UCLA Simulation Center. Ken joined UCLA in 2016 after 8 years with the Office of Medical Simulation at Western University of Health Sciences. He is a member of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators and holds degrees in Electronic Media Communications and in Cinema-Television Production from Missouri State University and the University of Southern California respectively. Ken is an award-winning community theater actor and director, having worked on stages throughout the Inland Empire. He is also a novelist and playwright with one published novel and a play that was performed locally at the Santa Monica Playhouse in 2019.

Kacey Borders is the Administrative Assistant for the UCLA Simulation Center. She is responsible for coordinating and scheduling all aspects of meetings, simulation sessions and other events within our Simulation Center. Since March 2014, Kacey has served as our initial point of contact for coordinating/maintaining the calendars for the Center’s Director and staff. Kacey has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Marketing. She enjoys fashion design and sewing women’s apparel.

Rukhsana “Roxy” Khan is Research Manager and a simulation specialist at the UCLA Simulation Center. She manages all the research projects at the center and is also responsible for coordinating and running simulation sessions for medical students, residents and hospital staff. Roxy earned her bachelor’s at UCLA and an MPH at USC. Her interest in medicine led her to first volunteer at the simulation center as an intern, and subsequently she was hired as full time staff in August 2011. She loves her dog Bam-Bam.

Chiquita Melvin joined UCLA in 2021 as a Standardized Patient (SP) Educator. Chiquita has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Georgia and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting from the University of Virginia. In addition to roles in theatre, web series, television, and independent films, she has worked as an actress with Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre. She received her medical simulation experience with the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing at the University of Virginia and with the Grossman School of Medicine at NYU. As an SP Educator, Chiquita casts, trains, and directs actors to portray patients for UCLA medical students and other learners. She believes the merging of performance art and medical instruction is an important cause, which the role of SP Educator allows her to fulfill.

Samuel Wilkes joined the UCLA Simulation Center in July, 2017, initially serving a dual role of Standardized Patient (SP) Educator and Simulation Specialist. Though he still occasionally helps out as a Sim Specialist, he now primarily serves as an SP Educator. In this role, he works with Standardized Patients in character portrayal and in assessment of interpersonal and communication skills. He has a passion for feedback and debriefing techniques to help learners of all levels be the best communicators they can be. Sam has a BA degree in Arts as Advocacy from Arizona State University and previously worked as an educator specializing in medical interviewing skills at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix and the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.

Nina Do is a simulation operations specialist. Nina began her career at the UCLA Simulation Center in 2019 as a student worker, where she worked with both our simulation technology team and our Standardized Patient Program. Nina received a bachelor's degree in Human Biology and Society from UCLA in 2022. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball and squash, and has a passion for medical education. She is dedicated to advancing the field of medical education and helping others reach their full potential.

Dan Weisman is a Learning Experience Designer, graphic designer, editor, videographer, and animator. Dan is responsible for creating interactive and engaging learning experiences using the latest technologies and multimedia tools. Before joining the UCLA Simulation Center team, he worked as a Video Production Specialist and Instructional Designer for the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and TV (TFT) and UCLA Online Teaching and Learning. His duties included running a video production studio on campus, video editing for numerous online courses, and helping redesign course websites in the Canvas LMS. In 2021, he participated in research into XR and immersive 3D learning environments, collaborating to produce multiplayer videogame-style learning environments designed to be experienced on a stage sized LED wall. Prior to joining TFT in 2019, he worked as a key member of UCLA Life Sciences Core Media, helping to create instructional media for Life Sciences and other majors. In his free time, he is a freelance artist for a wide range of clients in the academic, entertainment, and biotech fields. He earned his MFA from UCLA in 2012, majoring in Film and Television with an emphasis in Animation.

Terence Keel is an Associate Professor with a split appointment in the Department of African American Studies, and the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics. He has written extensively about race, religion, law, public health, and modern science. His widely acclaimed first book, Divine Variations details how religion helped produce scientific racism and remains a hidden feature of the life sciences. He is the Founding Director of the Biocritical Studies Lab and currently serves as an Associate Director for the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. He is also Associate Director of Critical Theory in the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health where he works with Dr. Chandra Ford of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Keel received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is currently a Research Fellow at the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy.