Faculty
Hector M Rivera-Melo, DC, DACBR
Fall 1980 - Fall 2120
Associate Professor II
SCU Health - Clinical Services
HectorMelo@scuhs.edu
Current Position
Biography
Dr. Hector Rivera-Melo graduated from the Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) in 2009 with a doctorate in chiropractic (DC), and shortly after began a residency in diagnostic imaging there. Dr. Rivera-Melo completed his residency and was awarded the title of Diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Radiologists (DACBR) in 2012. In 2017 he obtained his certificate in diagnostic musculoskeletal ultrasound (RMSK) Dr. Rivera-Melo has authored several radiology related articles and lectured nationally and internationally on various radiology topics. He is currently the Director for the Center of Diagnostic Imaging, head radiologist and Associate Professor at SCU, where he teaches several radiology courses.
Degrees
D.C., Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, California, United States
Professional Licensures (Healthcare)
Certifications (Healthcare)
Alliance for Physician Certification & Advancement, Registered in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (RMSK), Ultrasound, Musculoskeletal, 172210, 2017-01-01, 2024-12-31
American Chiropractic Board of Radiology, Diplomate, Radiology, 314, 2012-10-26, 2025-12-31
California Department of Public Health, Radiography Supervisor and Operator Permit, Radiology, RHC00169932 , 2012-04-30, 2019-04-30
Yoga Alliance, Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200), Yoga, 192299, 2016-04-23, 2017-12-31
Post-Graduate Training
Type: Residency, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Diagnostic Imaging, Musculoskeletal, Whittier, California, United States, January 2010, December 2012
Work Experience
2010 - 2012
Diagnostic Imaging Resident, Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, California, United States
Hospital / Clinical Appointments
LACC Clinical Student Radiology Clerkship, Radiology Clerkship May 2020, Ongoing
Scholarly Contributions and Creative Productions
Journal Article
Completed/Published
Presentation
Completed/Published
Honors and Awards
Fall 2015 - Summer 2016
Faculty Grit Award, 2016, Southern California University of Health Sciences
Fall 2016 - Summer 2017
Lindsey Rowe Memorial W.A.G Award, 2016, American Chiropractic College of Radiology, The recipient of this award has demonstrates superior ability to observe, recognize and interpret radiologic data. This was accomplished to a degree beyond that of mere mortals. In other words, this individual "Wild Ass Guessed" their way to victory
Fall 2023 - Summer 2024
Lindsey Rowe Memorial W.A.G Award, 2023, American Chiropractic College of Radiology, The recipient of this award has demonstrates superior ability to observe, recognize and interpret radiologic data. This was accomplished to a degree beyond that of mere mortals. In other words, this individual "Wild Ass Guessed" their way to victory
Professional Membership
Fall 2013 - Ongoing
American Chiropractic College of Radiology, January 2013, PRESENT , The ACCR is a professional association of board-certified chiropractic radiologists. The membership is a diverse group of practitioners with varied interests within radiology and chiropractic practice, but with the common goal of ensuring the safe and effective use of radiologic procedures in healthcare.
Fall 2011 - Ongoing
Radiologic Society of North America, September 2011, PRESENT , The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is a non-profit organization that represents professionals spanning the full breadth of radiologic subspecialties in more than 150 countries around the world.
RSNA provides high-quality educational resources, including continuing education credits toward physicians’ certification maintenance, host the world’s largest radiology conference and publish six top peer-reviewed journals: Radiology, RadioGraphics, Radiology: Artificial Intelligence, Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, Radiology: Imaging Cancer and Radiology Advances.
RSNA is dedicated to building the future of our profession, whether that's through our Research & Education Foundation, which has funded $78 million in grants since its inception, our solutions to support standards development or educational outreach to low-resource nations.
Interests
Musculoskeletal Radiology, Musculoskeletal Radiology
Hear from the Students Who’ve Been in Your Shoes
I chose SCU when looking for a PA program because of their Integrative Medicine approach. I am from Michigan, and not many programs focus on this Integrative, Holistic approach when it comes to patient care in the Midwest, and I felt that was very important for me to learn as a future provider. My transition to semi-virtual learning has been very smooth and quite enjoyable. [su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part about attending SCU is how tight-knit and diverse the community is. Coming from a large undergrad university and moving so far, it was very important for me to have a PA program that made me feel valued and invested in my success. At SCU, they do a great job of making you feel that.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Brianna Hadley
MSPA Class of 2022
One of the great things about SCU is we do have a campus layout, so all your classes aren't in a single room. We have our cadaver lab. We have different specialty rooms for physical assessment classes vs. acupuncture classes. All our acupuncture-specific classes have all the herbs in the room. You can pull out the herbs and look at them, whether in class or in between classes to get that extra studying in.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part of SCU is the collaboration from our beginning terms. We were working alongside chiropractor students, PA students, and ayurvedic students. It's a unique community where we get to learn about these different fields and sit in classrooms with them and work with them in the clinic. It allows you to get an understanding of all the different fields and how they can work together, and what is unique about your field. I think that is a wonderful aspect that I didn't think was going to be as prominent as it is here; even now, in my upper term classes and I am not in class with chiropractic students, I can still reach out to them about a certain aspect I may not understand or if I am working on a case. I want another perspective I know I have them to reach out to, so that has been a great networking community to have resources for.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Dr. Jamie Kuljis
Graduate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
"There are a lot of things that I love about the program at SCU. The first one is that the faculty come from a long line of Ayurvedic knowledge deeply rooted in ancient classical text. They studied Ayurveda, but they also lived it. When you learn from people who embody this wisdom, it's much easier to grasp this knowledge. The second thing I love is the camaraderie within the cohort. The combination of the training, supportive faculty, and the support of my peers and classmates has given me the confidence I need to start my own practice."
Portia Harris
Student, Ayurveda Program
Some of my favorite courses at SCU have to be the chiropractic procedure classes; those are the classes you get to hone in on your chiro skills, your palpation skills and ultimately work on the adjustments that make you a chiropractor. Those are the classes I feel enhance my knowledge the most and are some of the reasons I chose to become a chiropractor here are SCU.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]On top of chiropractic procedures classes, my favorite is the cadaver lab experience. The cadaver classes opened up my perception of what the human body is made up of. It allowed me to get an in-person perspective of how the body works and looks on the inside. I am genuinely thankful for those experiences because they opened and broadened my horizons to the human body and anatomy in general.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Jordan Vega
Student, Doctor of Chiropractic
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