Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH

Melissa McPheeters, Phd, MPH is a Research Professor of Health Policy and Biomedical Informatics, and the Co-Director of the Center for Improving the Public’s Health Using Informatics. Previously, she was the founding Director of the Office of Informatics and Analytics at the Tennessee Department of Health, and Principal Investigator on two federally funded grants to address the opioid epidemic, each with a strong focus on analytics, including using the data sources described in this grant. She developed the Department of Health program in informatics and analytics, including divisions in interoperability, data architecture, opioid related data analytics and communication and dissemination of data to the community. Prior to that she was faculty at Vanderbilt for ten years where she was the director of the Vanderbilt Evidence-based Practice Center, focused on integrating complex research data into rigorous reviews that were useful to clinicians, patients and policymakers, including leading methods development in a number of areas. The Vanderbilt EPC focused on maternal and child health, including screening and treatment in autism and for other developmental conditions. The EPC developed new approaches to evidence synthesis and data analysis and presentation with a particular focus on generating new methods and useful information for the community and for implementation. Dr. McPheeters received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. She has also worked in the public and private sectors, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in contract research.