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Department of Radiation Medicine & Applied Sciences Radiation Medicine
  1. Department of Radiation Medicine & Applied Sciences
  2. Faculty
  3. Applied Sciences Division
  4. Melody Schiaffino, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Melody Schiaffino, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Associate Professor

Melody SchiaffinoEducation

B.A. Interdisciplinary Studies and Spanish | University of Missouri
M.P.H. Epidemiology | University of South Florida
Ph.D. Health Services Research | University of Florida
Post-Doc: 1) NIH-NIMHD Health Disparities Research Institute 2) National Hispanic Health Foundation 3) NIH-NIA Butler-Williams Scholar and 4) NIH-NHLBI PRIDE Program | UCSF

 

 


 

  

 

About Dr. Schiaffino

Dr. Melody Schiaffino is an Associate Professor in the Division of Applied Sciences and a member of the RMAS Center for Health Equity Education and Research (CHEER). She holds a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care. 

Recognized for her leadership in advancing equitycentered cancer care, she is especially known for her work with older adults with limited English proficiency (LEP). As a bilingual, bicultural health services researcher, Dr. Schiaffino investigates how spatial context, system fragmentation, and language barriers affect cancer treatment quality and outcomes in older, linguistically diverse populations. She leverages massive administrative and GIS data, along with systems science, to model risk and improve culturally competent care.

Her innovative lab at UCSD (originated at SDSU) runs projects such as CANTRAC (binational cancer research), GeriOnc, ADRD LEP, Legacy Speakers, and GeriOnc AI/ML pipelines—many have been funded by NIH grants including a K01 and U54 consortium.  Her research has resulted in high-impact publications in Health Affairs, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and she has contributed to ASCO’s geriatric oncology guideline updates.