Dr. Carmelle T. Norice-Tra is a former Medical Officer at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (National Institutes of Health), where her work was focused on the design, scientific review, and implementation of clinical trials. She provides infectious diseases specialty care to underserved patients at Community of Hope in the District of Columbia. After attending college at UCLA, Carmelle obtained a dual MD-PhD degree in Medicine and Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Studies from Columbia University. She completed residency in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital,  followed by subspecialty fellowship training in infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine as a Diplomate of Internal Medicine and a Diplomate of Infectious Diseases. Carmelle addresses health disparities in the African American community through church-based programs that provide health screenings, education and referrals for the medically uninsured. For the past 24 years, Carmelle has done time with her father who is serving an enhanced 99-year prison sentence for aggravated robbery while under the influence of drugs. She has channeled energy from this experience into serving system-impacted individuals and families in various ways. While in graduate school, Carmelle volunteered as a math tutor for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice College Initiative. She has given guest lectures for the Goucher Prison Education Partnership at the Jessup Correctional Institution in Maryland and the Young Men Emerging Unit in the District of Columbia Jail. She visits and writes to people who are incarcerated. Carmelle also volunteers as a Justice Ambassador with Prison Fellowship®, encouraging lawmakers to support bills for justice reform.