Chidinma Chima-Melton, MD

Dr. Chidinma Chima-Melton received her medical degree from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, New York. She completed her training in Internal Medicine at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She then made the move to the west coast for fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. During fellowship, she performed research in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a progressive scarring disease of the lung with no clear cause. She was awarded the Sports Spectacular Distinguished Fellow award for her research in addition to having her work funded by internal grants.

Following her fellowship, Dr. Chima-Melton joined UCLA and is currently a board certified pulmonologist with an interest in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), Occupational and Environmental lung diseases. When asked what drives her, Dr. Chima-Melton responds, “Growing up in a Nigerian family in the English countryside, my parents epitomized hard work, persistence and dedication in pursuing their paths. From them I learned the important lesson of never giving up, especially when it comes to advocating for my patients. I majored in Computer Science and was on the path towards becoming an investment banker before I made a career change - I wanted to devote my life to helping people breathe. These experiences provided a perspective that is much broader and encompassing than one might project as career physician. My training in Computer Science allows me to approach complicated cases in a very structured way and my medical training enables me to provide world-class evidence based yet compassionate care - even in the most complicated of cases.” In her spare time Dr. Chima-Melton enjoys running, traveling, reading and exploring the great outdoors.