Melissa Perry, ScD, MHS, a professor of environmental and occupational health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH), has been chosen to participate in the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Fellowship.
The ELAM program, based at Drexel University College of Medicine, is the only one in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. The program helps women develop professional and personal leadership skills, with a special focus on the challenges that face women in leadership positions. The ELAM program was developed specifically for female faculty at the associate or professor levels at universities who demonstrate potential for assuming executive leadership positions within five years.
Perry, who is the chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at Milken Institute SPH, is among 61 women chosen for the 25th class of fellows to participate in the ELAM program. The program includes extensive online and remote coursework as well as three weeklong visits to Drexel University. In order to be selected into the ELAM program, a fellow must be nominated and supported by the dean or another senior official of her university. Lynn Goldman, MD, MPH, Michael and Lori Milken Dean of Milken Institute SPH, nominated Perry for the ELAM program.
“When Dean Goldman offered to nominate me for ELAM, I was very appreciative, and I had my fingers crossed that I would be selected because the fellowship has such an important legacy of developing women leaders in academic health,” Perry said. “The experience has already been extremely valuable and I am eager to find ways for other women leaders in public health to take advantage of the deep knowledge the program has to offer.”
Perry is a leading researcher who has conducted a wide range of epidemiologic and preventive intervention studies over 25 years, investigating occupational injury and disease and how chemicals and other physical agents affect reproductive health. Perry joined Milken Institute SPH in 2011 and has authored over 150 peer-reviewed papers. She has mentored dozens of public health students who have become leading researchers, government officials and health advocates. In 2014, Perry was elected to be a member of the Collegium Ramazzini in recognition of her contributions to advancing occupational and environmental health and her personal and professional integrity.
Read more about Perry’s research here. Learn more about the ELAM Program here.