Robb Russell is the Assistant Vice President and Clinical Chief of Staff at SCU Health. He graduated from San Diego State University in 1978 with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a minor in Biology. In 1982, Dr. Russell graduated from Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) College of Chiropractic. He practiced in a multi-specialty clinic in Long Beach for nearly three decades before joining the SCU faculty.

Dr. Russell has held several leadership positions in the chiropractic profession, including Chairman of the Chiropractic Section of Pacific Hospital of Long Beach and various posts with the California Chiropractic Association, including serving on the Board of Directors and was the Vice President of Internal Affairs. For ten years he served as the Exam Commissioner and Expert Consultant for the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners and served fifteen years as an Examiner for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Dr. Russell has published articles in chiropractic magazines and journals and presented at chiropractic and medical conferences. He has also presented numerous talks on the topic of workplace injury prevention. Dr. Russell has served on the Board of Directors of the Long Beach Symphony Association and is an active member of the Long Beach Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation.

Jacqueline Beres is the Spine Care Director and Los Angeles College of Chiropractic Assistant Dean of Clinical Education. Dr. Beres earned her Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Sciences from the University of Florida College of Health and Human Performance. She went on to obtain her Doctor of Chiropractic at Palmer College of Chiropractic, Florida, in 2006. Dr. Beres has devoted her career to implementing and refining a value-based approach for the evaluation and management of spine-related disorders and applying the Primary Spine Practitioner (PSP) model, a concept based on establishing a subset of healthcare providers as an initial point of contact specific to spinal pain and associated conditions. She has played a vital role in the establishment of evidence-based clinics in both the private and educational settings. Her experience includes program development at the Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida Outpatient Clinic system, as well as execution of a community-wide spine care pathway in affiliation with Lifetime Health Medical Group and Excellus BlueCross/BlueShield in Rochester, NY.

Dr. Beres joined SCU’s clinical faculty for Primary Spine Care in 2015 as Faculty Clinician and is involved in patient care and resident education. She practices using an evidence-based approach to nonsurgical spinal conditions using manual therapies including manipulation and mobilization, end-range loading, and neural mobilization techniques. Dr. Beres also highlights the importance of active care protocols by incorporating various forms of exercise and stabilization techniques into patient management, as well as an anti-inflammatory nutritional approach to pain. Dr. Beres stresses the importance of ethical and efficient practice models, and the use of treatment methods supported by current research for the conservative management of back pain, neck pain, and headaches.

Diane Christopherson is a chiropractic clinician and associate professor at SCU Health. Dr. Christopherson earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. After college, she co-owned “Space Art,” where she worked on space science research and wrote about NASA image acquisitions. Dr. Christopherson went on to obtain her Doctor of Chiropractic from Palmer College of Chiropractic, California in 1986, where she graduated valedictorian and Magna Cum Laude. She has a successful private practice in Laguna Beach, California, and is a resourceful problem solver with an exceptional diagnostic assessment, patient education, and case management skills.

Hiwot Melka earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, with honors, from Hamline University. In 2015, she obtained her Doctor of Chiropractic from Northwestern University of Health Sciences. The following year Dr. Melka was accepted into the Primary Spine Practitioner Residency Program at Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), which she completed in two years. She applies an integrated and evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to spine care, believing that this approach is important to ensure quality, individualized, and inclusive care, allowing the active participation of patients and promoting long-term well-being. She currently serves as Chiropractic Clinician and Assistant Professor at SCU Health.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Dr. Xavier has shown a lifelong passion for healing and has dedicated most of his life to helping his patients achieve healthy and pain-free living. He began by volunteering for the Red Cross at age 16 and became an EMT and first aid instructor by age 18. He then worked as a paramedic, flight paramedic, and college instructor for various emergency response programs, building a wealth of experience in pre-hospital medicine and the healthcare field. While having a successful career as a pre-hospital provider, Dr. Xavier continued his undergraduate work in biology with the goal of enrolling in medical school in the future. He achieved this goal in 2002 when he enrolled in medical school at Xochicalco Medical School in Baja California, Mexico.

Soon after receiving his diploma as a medical doctor with a minor in surgery in 2007, he returned to Puerto Rico where he went back to the healthcare and educational field as the program director for the Emergency Medical Technician program at Ponce Paramedical College. In 2011, he co-founded Educatevirtual Learning Centers, a portal for online health professionals’ continuing education. He took the opportunity to continue developing his skills as an educator during the following years by obtaining other credentials as an instructor in the medical field. Later in life, these experiences opened opportunities as a cardiac training program instructor with Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, and then the Critical Care Training Center in North Hollywood, California.

After spending years in medical education and with the desire to go back into patient care, Dr. Xavier chose chiropractic as his re-entry into clinical work. He first experienced chiropractic after a back injury in 2009 and was intrigued by the self-healing power of the human body. This also set him on a quest to seek new answers, education, treatment methodologies, and become who he is now, a chiropractor. He also chose to become a chiropractor to share with his patients the health benefits he had experienced in his own life. Using his previous clinical knowledge, he has incorporated and integrated clinical perspectives that are only possible if you have been in the medical field for some time. His practice reflects the scientific medical grounding with the philosophical and hands-on approach of chiropractic.

Dr. Xavier has a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) and is licensed to practice as a chiropractor in the states of California and Idaho. Using his previous experience and background, he has developed in the occupational health field, including certification as a Certified Medical Examiner (CME). He has diplomate-level coursework for Whiplash Injury and Concussion, and most recently completed diplomate coursework as an Industrial Injury Evaluator (IIE) to perform work-related evaluations and treatment under the California Workers Compensation System. He is also in the process of becoming a California Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME). He also has multiple clinical education certificates in nutrition and technique courses such as instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation, Activator Methods, CBP Technique, and Gonstead Technique.

As a chiropractic physician, Dr. Xavier is at the forefront of drug-free pain management and offers free community drug prevention education. He is currently employed as a Clinical Faculty at the SCU Health System Clinic in Whittier, California, specializing in drugless pain management with a focus on addressing the physical, biomechanical, biochemical, and biopsychosocial components of pain while teaching SCU students how to become compassionate integrated doctors.

His ethnically diverse background, his charisma, and fun and upbeat personality make Dr. Xavier’s patient list a desirable spot in the clinic. He is enthusiastic about developing strong relationships with his patients by providing the highest level of care, especially to the Spanish-speaking community. When he is not helping his patients, he enjoys nature, water, and outdoor sports. He is also a self-proclaimed leftover chef with over 30 years of vegetarian cuisine expertise.

Gilda Gilak is a teaching faculty and a clinician at SCU; she has earned her Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Cellular Biology and a minor in Microbiology. She received her Doctorate in Chiropractic from the Southern California University of Health and Sciences in 2005. She earned a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition in 2016. She received her Certified Primary Spine Practitioner from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019, specializing in Spine-related injuries. She worked alongside orthopedic surgeons, furthering her knowledge and experiences in spine-related disorders. Dr.Gilak became a qualified medical examiner in 2020, certified by the Division of Workers’ Compensation. She teaches clinical reasoning as well as helping students develop diagnostic assessment, patient education, and case management skills.

She has a successful private practice in Newport Beach, California, and has been an examiner for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiner since 2021;  She is an avid skier and swimmer.

Dr. Elena Hernandez is a Michigan native and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. After experiencing relief from neck pain and headaches as a chiropractic patient, she was inspired to change careers and enter the profession herself. Dr. Hernandez earned her Doctorate of Chiropractic from National University of Health Sciences in Illinois and spent four years practicing in private clinics in Chicago. Dr. Hernandez emphasizes patient education and empowerment in her approach and encourages patients to become active participants in their care.

Dr. Godun has been practicing chiropractic Since 1998.  He is licensed in CA and 5 other states, and has a unique breadth of experience. After 8 years of private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, in which he treated a broad range of patients from children to octogenarians, he moved to San Diego and began a journey with a company that delivered physical health services (chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy) to patients nationwide.  Through the years at this evidence-based company, he moved from reviewing cases to running committees, and finally overseeing the entire clinical program for California.  He is now happy to bring this experience to SCU Health and is excited to continue learning from the staff and students he interacts with.