Melissa Hawkins, PhD, MHS, serves as the Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Health Studies at American University. She completed her master’s and doctoral training in public health at Johns Hopkins University. Her current research focuses on community-based interventions to reduce chronic conditions and reduce health disparities in Washington DC. Before joining the faculty at American University in 2015, she served as Research Director for TMNcorp, a public health contract research organization. She also served as a Senior Epidemiologist with Epidemiology International. She has directed research and evaluations for health investigations for US Federal agencies, including FDA, USDA, CDC, DOT, and CMS. She is an admitted fellow with the American College of Epidemiology.