Cristel Escalona, MD

Biography

Dr. Cristel Escalona, a native of the Rio Grande Valley, graduated from the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA). During her time at UTPA, she was on an athletic scholarship for the women’s tennis team and conducted extensive undergraduate research in Organic and Polymer Chemistry. She also served as a public health summer fellow for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Emory University.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she was accepted to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. Her medical school research focused on women with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the effects of healing touch, in collaboration with the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico. With a strong interest in children’s health, she pursued a residency in Pediatrics at UTMB, where her research on pregnancy trends among first-generation Hispanic American adolescents earned her the Arild E. Hansen Award for Outstanding Resident Research.

In 2007, Dr. Escalona returned to her hometown to practice as a pediatric hospitalist. From 2008 to 2013, she taught inpatient pediatrics to third and fourth-year medical students as community faculty for the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. In 2013, she became the medical director of UTPA student health, and in 2016, she joined the UTRGV School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics for the Division of Women's and Children's Health. She is also a board-certified pediatrician at UT Health RGV. Dr. Escalona is board certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a proud mother of three wonderful boys.