Adys Mendizabal, MD
(she/her) - Movement Disorders Neurology
About
Adys Mendizabal, MD, MS, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology from the University of Miami and completed medical school at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. While in medical school, she also earned a Master of Arts in Urban Bioethics, focusing on social determinants of health in urban communities. She completed her neurology residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and movement disorders fellowship at UCLA. She also completed a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA.
Dr. Mendizabal's research focuses on health services in neurology. Health services is a field that studies how patients access care, assess healthcare outcomes and use this information to shape healthcare policy. One focus of health services research is evaluating the role of social determinants of health in a person’s ability to access healthcare and how they could lead to differences in health outcomes. Dr. Mendizabal’s current research ooks at racial and ethnic disparities in Huntington’s Disease (HD), a rare progressive neurogenetic condition. She’s also developing projects improving sociodemographic data collection in HD, with the goal of understanding how minoritized groups with HD access specialized care, and with the ultimate goal to ensure equitable access to specialized care for HD and other neurological disorders. She hopes to use these methods to enhance the study of health services in other rare genetic conditions. In addition to research on Huntington’s Disease, her work also looks at the relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and healthcare outcomes in adults with neurological diseases.
In addition to her research work, she is actively involved in health equity efforts at UCLA and nationally. She's a member of the American Neurological Association (ANA) inclusion, diversity, equity, anti-racism, and social justice committee (IDEAS), has implemented neurology residency health equity curriculums at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA, and currently serves as the faculty lead for the EDI-Advocacy neurology residency educational track.
Languages
Education
Medical Board Certification
Fellowship
Residency
Internship
Degrees
Recognitions
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society
- Gold Humanism Honor Society
- Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) Berman-Topper Career Development Fellow
Locations
Hospital Affiliations
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Medical Services
Areas of Focus
Videos
Research
Interests
- Health Services in Neurologic Disease
- Health Equity in Neurologic Disease
- Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Development of Neurologic Disease, Healthcare Utilization, and Disease Specific Outcomes
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Neurology Education
Publications
- Mendizabal A, Singh AP, Perlman S, Brown A, Bordelon Y. Disparities in Huntington Disease Severity: Analysis Using the ENROLL-HD Dataset. Neurol Clin Pract. 2023 Dec;13(6):e200200. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000200200. Epub 2023 Oct 2. PMID: 37795504; PMCID: PMC10547468.
- Mendizabal A, Jones NL. (2023). Ethical Considerations in Clinical Trials for Rare Genetic Diseases: The Case of Huntington’s Disease. The American Journal of Bioethics: AJOB, 23(7), 94–96.
- Mendizabal A. Contextualizing Adverse Childhood Experiences in Patients With Parkinson Disease: The Beginnings of a Complicated Area of Neurologic Research. Neurol Clin Pract. 2023 Apr;13(2):e200158. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000200158. Epub 2023 Mar 22. PMID: 36970561; PMCID: PMC10038655.
- Mendizabal A, Diaz JM, Bustamante AV, Bordelon Y. Health Services in Huntington Disease: A Systematic Literature Review. Neurol Clin Pract. 2023 Feb;13(1):e200108. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000200108. Epub 2023 Jan 11. PMID: 36865636; PMCID: PMC9973320.
- Mendizabal, A., Nathan, C. L., Khankhanian, P., Anto, M., Clyburn, C., Acaba-Berrocal, A., Breen, L., & Dahodwala, N. (2022). Adverse Childhood Experiences in Patients With Neurologic Disease. Neurology. Clinical Practice, 12(1), 60–67. PMCID: PMC9491504
- Mendizabal, A., Fan JH, Price RS, Hamilton RH. Feasibility and effectiveness appraisal of a neurology residency health equities curriculum. J Neurol Sci. 2021 Dec 15;431:120040. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.120040. Epub 2021 Oct 22. PMID: 34748973.
- Mendizabal A, Thibault DP, Crispo JA, Paley A, Willis AW. Comorbid disease drives short-term hospitalization outcomes in patients with multiple sclerosis. Neurol Clin Pract. 2020 Jun;10(3):255-264. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000838. PMID: 32642327; PMCID: PMC7292556
- Mendizabal A, Ngo Vu AT, Thibault D, Gonzalez-Alegre P, Willis A. Hospitalizations of Children with Huntington's Disease in the United States. Mov Disord Clin Pract. 2017 Sep-Oct;4(5):682-688. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6174499.
- Mendizabal A, Thibault DP, Willis AW. Patient safety events in hospital care of individuals with epilepsy. Epilepsi 2016 Aug;57(8):1301-9. PubMed PMID: 27350435.
In the News
Is there a link between childhood trauma and adult neurologic conditions? - UCLA Health Newsroom, 2021
Insurance
- Aetna
- Anthem Blue Cross
- Blue Shield of California
- Centivo
- Cigna
- First Health
- Health Net of California
- Interplan (part of HealthSmart)
- L.A. Care
- Medicare Advantage
- MultiPlan
- UFCM Health System
- Prime Health Services
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- TRICARE
- UnitedHealthcare
The list of health care plans above may not be comprehensive and could change.
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Recognitions
- Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society
- Gold Humanism Honor Society
- Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) Berman-Topper Career Development Fellow