Puja Chadha, M.D.
Assistant Director of Education, Center for Reducing Health Disparities
Puja Chadha received her Bachelor's in Science in Biomolecular Sciences with minors in Chemistry and University Honors from Chapman University, CA. She completed her medical school training at the University of California, Davis including an active role as Co-Director to Joan-Viteri Memorial Student-Run Clinic supporting homelessness, harm-reduction, and gender-health. During her General Psychiatry Residency at UC Davis, she completed the APA/SAMHSA Fellowship focused on care in minority mental health as well as research into women's mental health and residency training on cultural competence in client interviews.
As an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UC Davis, she serves as Assistant Training Director for the Center for Reducing Healthcare Disparities as well as multiple teaching roles in the School of Medicine and Psychiatry Residency Training Program including Director of Diversity Education, Office of Faculty Development and Diversity leading curriculum to improve faculty supporting inclusion for diverse students as well as training on faculty search committee training diversity and inclusion efforts in workforce recruitment.
Clinically she has worked with UC Davis Psychiatry to open a 16-bed acute Psychiatric Health Facility as Assistant Medical Director and then moved on to work with underserved populations through the County Mental Health Clinics in Sacramento. She has worked in both private practice sector providing psychotherapy as well as with underserved at the Asian Pacific Community Counseling Center also known as the Transcultural Wellness Center where she was awarded Doctor of the Year 2014. She was an active Team Member for 2017 Dean’s Team Award for Inclusion and Excellence for work on CLAS implementation and community engagement longitudinal collaboration projects at the Center for Reducing Healthcare Disparities and she was the faculty Inductee to the Gold Humanism Honors Society 2018 for University California School of Medicine. She continues her efforts in educating students, residents, faculty, community members, and providers both clinically and non-clinically including collaborating with National Alliance on Mental Illness to co-create and teach the Cultural Competence Webinar Training Series as part of her work at the Center for Reducing Healthcare Disparities.
