OUR TEAM

Leadership & Vision at Sun Valley Research Center

At SVRC, we believe that deep site relationships, operational excellence, and scientific integrity are the foundations of transformative clinical research.

Our team is made of long-time collaborators who share a unified mission: to run smarter, patient-centric clinical trials.

Directors & Management

  • Medical Director & Co-founder

    Dr. Ng is a Mexicali native who started his private practice in Imperial County in 1994. He became a Medical Doctor at the University of Nuevo Leon in 1987. After completing his year of social service in the city of Monterrey in 1988, he entered specialized training in Psychiatry, in El Paso Texas in 1989 and continued in San Diego California in 1992. Dr. Ng is currently the principal investigator for Sun Valley Research Center, Inc.

    He completed a year of subspecialty training in Psychosomatic Medicine right before moving to Imperial County, California. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Psychiatry and in Psychosomatic Medicine, as well as by the Mexican Board of Psychiatry. He is also a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association.

    He has served as chairman and member of the Physician Wellbeing and Bioethic committees at both local hospitals ECRMC and PMH. He is a consultant at various organizations and clinics. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, the Imperial County Medical Society, the San Diego Psychiatric Society and the American Medical Association.

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  • Executive Director & Co-founder

    Judy Galindo is the current Executive Director and one of the site co-owners who helped establish research center back in 2007.

    Judy is a bilingual certified clinical research coordinator (ACRP) who oversees all administrative tasks, community outreach/outreach, site & physician collaborations and works closely with the site manager and PI/co-owner for the day-to-day site operations. Judy has worked on over 130 protocols over the past 20 years, prior to SVRC she worked for a sleep disorders research center in San Diego, California for several years.

    She has a master’s degree in advanced studies in Clinical Research and has numerous years of experience in many site-based roles such as research assistant, study coordinator, rater and manager across various therapeutic areas in clinical research.

    Judy is also very involved in the clinical research industry and ensuring the industry improves their diversity efforts to include all patients of various backgrounds in clinical trials but also that smaller/rural border communities such as Imperial County are included and considered locations where clinical research should be at in order to offer more opportunities in care options to patients in these communities. She is the co-founder of The Clinical Research Circle, Latinos in Clinical Research, and Save our Sites Conference and works closely with many other advocates and site owners in clinical research.

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  • Site Manager

    Michelle has been a dedicated member of Sun Valley Research Center, Inc. since July 2012 and brings extensive experience across multiple roles in clinical research. She began her career as a bilingual Research Assistant and Phlebotomist, later transitioning into the role of Bilingual Research Coordinator. By 2016, she had contributed to more than 59 clinical research studies across various therapeutic areas.

    In May 2024, Michelle was promoted to Site Manager and now oversees the day-to-day operations of the research center. She works closely with the entire research team, Executive Director Judy Galindo, and Principal Investigator Dr. Bernardo Ng to ensure smooth and compliant study execution.

    Michelle is trained on all of SVRC, Inc.’s standard operating procedures and holds current certifications in Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and IATA, along with an active phlebotomy license. She has several years of hands-on experience working with various EDC and IVRS systems and is skilled in administering cognitive assessments and participant/caregiver questionnaires.

    Michelle attended Imperial Valley College from 2004 to 2006, where she studied Spanish and Teaching. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Applied Management from Grand Canyon University, completing the program in July 2025.

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Investigators

  • Investigator

    Dr. Diana Dang completed her internship in internal medicine and a dermatology training program through the American Association of Physician Specialists and has her own private clinic with several other providers in El Centro, CA. She has a special interest in treating acne and acne scars, specializes in Agnes RF microneedling, a non-surgical facial contouring procedure.

    She is also an expert on laser procedures including tattoo removal, hair removal, skin rejuvenation and laser treatments for psoriasis and vitiligo. Dr. Dang is an investigator for clinical research studies at Sun Valley Research Center, Inc.

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  • Sub-Investigator & Rater

    Nika is a licensed psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with over 11 years of experience in nursing specially for psychiatric conditions.

    She started out working as a certified nursing assistant and then as a registered nurse for several psychiatric facilities over several years. She went back to school and completed her Master of Science in Nursing in 2023 and became a family nurse practitioner. She completed additional training to get her license as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner in 2024.

    During her educational and professional trajectory, Nika realized she had a passion for working with patients with mental health conditions and wanted to devote her time and expertise in treating these patients.

    At Sun Valley Research Center, Nika Varrin is a Sub-Investigator and a rater for our clinical research studies.

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  • Investigator

    Paloma Camacho, NP-C, FNP-C is a dedicated Family Nurse Practitioner at Hamid Zadeh, MD Inc. with over seven years of nursing and advanced practice experience. Her clinical background includes Medical-Surgical nursing, Radiation Oncology, and caring for patients in both Oncology and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) settings as a float nurse.

    Paloma serves as a clinical research investigator at Sun Valley Research Center, Inc., where she contributes to advancing medical research and expanding access to innovative treatment options for the Imperial Valley community.

  • Sub-Investigator & Rater

    Tyler is a licensed psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner with over 11 years of experience in nursing.

    He started out working as a registered nurse in 2014 and has had various roles working for one of the local hospitals or state prisons as well as a nursing tutor. Tyler went back to school and completed his Master of Science in Nursing in 2025 and became a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner.

    Tyler has enjoyed working in the nursing field and realized there was a need for bilingual psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners and decided to pursue this in order to work in a private clinic setting.

    At Sun Valley Research Center, Tyler Martin is a Sub-Investigator and a rater for our clinical research studies.

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  • Investigator

    Dr. Vijaykanth Mahendrakar, a dedicated resident of Imperial, brings 11 years of medical experience to our community. He earned his medical degree from the Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences in India and completed his Family Medicine Residency at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Shreveport, LA. Dr. Mahendrakar is and investigator for clinical research studies and dedicated to delivering high-quality primary care, ensuring that our patients receive essential healthcare services locally, and fostering a healthier and stronger community.

  • Investigator

    Dr. Hamid Zadeh, FACOG is an OBGYN and has his own private clinic with a few other providers in Imperial, CA provides expert full spectrum obstetric and gynecologic healthcare for women of all ages. His office focuses on high-risk pregnancies, pre-conception and infertility counseling and treatment for menopause, as well as excellent surgical training using cutting edge technology including the da Vinci Surgery laser.  Dr. Hamid Zadeh is an investigator for clinical research studies at Sun Valley Research Center, Inc.

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  • Investigator

    Dr. Mary Vivirito is a licensed optometrist and works at Optom-Eyes Vision Care Optometry in El Centro, CA. Her office treats dry eyes, myopia management, comprehensive astigmatism diagnosis and correction, presbyopia, hyperopia, cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma and treats a variety of other conditions as well as providing eye exams, glasses, and contacts. Dr. Vivirito and her facility have been a contracted facility and investigator for several clinical research studies with our office and will continue to support with our office on ophthalmology clinical research studies.

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Business & Coordination

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  • Business Development Manager

    Dr. Rubio was born in Monterrey, Mexico and is a foreign medical degree graduate from Universidad de Monterrey and has about 9 years of clinical research experience in various roles which include a lead clinical research coordinator and director of clinical research working on Asthma, Dermatology, and various other therapeutic areas.

    As of 2025, Dr. Rubio has joined our team as the Business Development Manager to help grow and expand our therapeutic areas in clinical research and integrate research into other healthcare providers (HCP) in our community as well as foster and grow our local referral HCP network to identify potential participants for ongoing clinical trials.

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  • Senior Clinical Research Coordinator

    Rossy has been working with SVRC, Inc. since 2007 as a bilingual study coordinator and has worked as the primary or back-up coordinator on over 64 clinical research studies. Rossy graduated in October 2016 from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Services & Business Administration.

    She also has several years of experience working on various EDC/IVRS systems, as well as administering various cognitive/subject/parent/caregiver scales and questionnaires for studies in various therapeutic areas. She has also been trained and certified to be the blinded rater in a few Alzheimer’s studies for specific cognitive rating scales.

    Rossy’s experience in all the clinical research studies and assessments she has administered are listed on her current research CV. Rossy is also trained on SVRC, Inc.’s standard operating procedures and has a current GCP training/certification, as well as being IATA certified.

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  • Clinical Research Coordinator

    Javier joined our team in December 2021 and serves as a bilingual Clinical Research Coordinator. He is responsible for prescreening and identifying potential participants for our current clinical studies through our internal database, social media advertising referrals, community referrals, and centralized recruitment campaigns.

    He also supports a variety of study-related activities as needed, including maintaining regulatory documents and managing electronic source documentation within our internal Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) and study-specific electronic source systems. In addition, Javier conducts rater assessments, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), for prospective and enrolled study participants.

    Javier earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from CETYS University in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, in early 2021. Prior to joining our team, he gained valuable experience working with patients in psychology settings, group homes, and addiction treatment clinics.

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  • Clinical Research Coordinator

    Dr. Rodriguez was born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California. Dr. Rodriguez received his medical degree from Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, and his master’s degree in occupational health from Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara.

    Dr. Rodriguez has vast experience in psychosocial behavior and has been the medical coordinator and medical manager across multiple international companies.

    As of 2023, Dr. Rodriguez has joined our team as a Clinical Research Coordinator and looks forward to contributing to our community’s mental health care.

  • Lead Research Assistant (CRC In Training)
    Pre-Screener/Recruiter

    Emilia started with our office as of November 2021 and is a bilingual research assistant/recruiter and she is responsible for pre-screening and identifying participants for our current studies from our internal database, incoming referrals from social media ads, incoming referrals from the community, and central recruitment campaigns. She will also be assisting with various other delegated tasks as needed for various ongoing studies.

    Emilia is currently attending Imperial Valley College and working on her Associates in Psychology and her estimated graduation date is January 2022. After Imperial Valley College she will be transferring to San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Campus to work on her bachelor’s in psychology.

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  • Research Assistant

    Diana Villalobos was born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California. In February of 2024, Diana joined the Sun Valley Research team as a research intern with the intention of expanding her knowledge in both clinical research and behavioral sciences and as of August 2024 is now our newest research assistant.

    Diana aspires to be an orthopedic surgeon in the USA; she is currently preparing for her USMLE boards.

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  • Research Assistant

    Dr. Raul Cortez was born and raised in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. He earned his medical degree from Universidad Xochicalco, where he developed a strong interest in clinical medicine, research, and evidence-based healthcare.

     In 2025, he completed a clinical internship at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, gaining hands-on exposure to the U.S. healthcare system through collaboration with multidisciplinary teams in a diverse clinical setting.

     Since March 2026, Dr. Cortez has served as a Research Assistant at Sun Valley Research Center, where he continues building expertise in clinical research, study coordination, data management, and protocol implementation.

    He is now pursuing opportunities to continue his medical training in the United States, with the goal of completing a residency in Pediatrics, committed to combining clinical excellence, research, and compassionate care to improve the health and well-being of children and their families.

  • Research Assistant

    Vanessa Nuño is a bilingual Research Assistant at Sun Valley Research Center. Vanessa graduated from CALRegional as a medical assistant in 2022, and since then she developed a passion towards patient care and community outreach.

    Ms. Nuño’s background in agriculture has granted her a unique perspective in the medical needs of the Imperial Valley, and an unmatched eagerness to engage with our community, and helping towards improving the participation of minorities in clinical research.

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  • Research Assistant

    Marco Antonio Peña was born in San Diego, California. He works as a Research Assistant at Sun Valley Research Center, where he specializes in patient recruitment and prescreening for clinical trials focused on mental health and neurological conditions.
    Marco holds dual bachelor's degrees in Clinical Psychology from CETYS Universidad and Applied Psychology from the City University of Seattle. He also has prior academic training in medicine from Universidad Xochicalco, along with research experience focused on mental health and migrant communities. With a strong interest in neuropsychology and experience in both clinical and research settings, Marco is passionate about supporting evidence-based treatments and improving access to mental healthcare in underserved communities.

  • Research Assistant (Pre-Screener/Recruiter)

    Alexandrina (Nina) Garcia was born in Los Angeles, California and earned her bachelor's degree in Clinical Psychology from CETYS Universidad. She works as a Research Assistant at Sun Valley Research Center, where she focuses on patient recruitment and prescreening for a variety of clinical trials.

    Alexandrina previously studied medicine at UABC Medical School and has participated in research programs through UCSD’s ENLACE program. She is passionate about mental health and aims to use her clinical and research experience to support underserved communities and advance innovative treatments in behavioral health.

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