Dr. Michael A. Rodríguez is a Professor of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA and Director of the UCLA/Drew Center of Excellence Summer Research Program.. An advocate for the underserved, Dr. Rodriguez has significant expertise in the principles of community based participatory research and the development of initiatives focused on improving the health and health care of individuals, families and communities. His research activities focus on the role of the healthcare system in addressing family violence and the healthcare needs of ethnically diverse populations across the age spectrum. He has published and lectured widely, is an active reviewer for the National Institute of Health, and has consulted for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He recently served on the Institute of Medicine's Committee on the Training Needs of Health Professionals to Respond to Family Violence and is currently Chairperson of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Dr. Rodríguez completed his undergraduate training at the University of California, Berkeley, received his medical degree from UCLA School of Medicine, and is a graduate of UC San Francisco's Family Medicine Residency Program, John Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health and a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar from Stanford University. Dr. Rodriguez also teaches UCLA residents, graduate and undergraduate students, while continuing to practice family medicine.