Dr. Carmelle T. Norice Tra, MD PhD

Hometown – Los Angeles, CA
Undergrad – University of California, Los Angeles, BS, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Graduate School – Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 2010, MD-PhD
Current – Clinical Director of Infectious Diseases, Merck

Carmelle T. Norice, MD-PhD, is a resident physician at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed a dual MD-PhD degree at Columbia University in the City of New York in 2010, fully-funded by the National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program.

While in graduate school, she was invited by scientists at Merck & Co., Inc. laboratories to present her research which elucidated a novel antifungal drug target. She served in outreach and education programs for students underrepresented in biomedical research fields. She also volunteered extensively as a math tutor for the College Initiative, an organization that helps ex-offenders pursue higher education in New York City. Prior to her studies at Columbia University, Carmelle was a Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award Fellow at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, MD where she investigated molecular mechanisms of brain cell signaling. Supported by a scholarship from the Ron Brown Scholar Program, Carmelle earned a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology cum laude, with college honors and departmental honors from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2002. She was given the Chancellor’s Award for Leadership and Academic Excellence two consecutive years for balancing her time in the classroom with service activities that prepared inner-city Los Angeles youth for college. In addition to addressing healthcare disparities in underserved U.S. communities, Carmelle aspires to help build biomedical research and healthcare capacity in West Africa.