Melissa Perry, ScD, MHS, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, has been named Chair of the Health Effects Institute (HEI) Review Committee.
HEI is an independent research organization that provides high-quality, impartial, and relevant science on the health effects of air pollution. HEI has funded over 330 research projects worldwide, which have been published in more than 260 reports. The organization receives balanced funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and motor vehicle industry.
In her role as Chair, Perry will lead a group of reviewers who represent medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental engineering, exposure sciences, and environmental health. The review committee will work with HEI staff to evaluate research projects, which are generally conducted by investigators at academic and research institutes around the world. The review committee examines the strengths and weaknesses of research projects, and its evaluations are published alongside the reports.
"The HEI Review Committee serves the critical role of making sure the rigorous science that HEI supports is thoroughly evaluated and has long term, global public health impact,” Perry said. “It is a rich honor to serve this distinguished research organization and to serve as committee chair among such accomplished researchers and public health leaders.”
With over 25 years of experience and over 150 peer-reviewed publications, Perry is a leading researcher in the field of epidemiology and environmental health sciences. Her research focuses on occupational and environmental health and the impact of exposure to chemical agents on reproduction. Perry is a highly respected expert on the effects of pesticides on agricultural workers and the general public. In June, she received a Fulbright Award focused on global public health capacity building. She is past president of the American College of Epidemiology and has chaired numerous scientific boards and federal committees.
For more information on Perry’s research, click here. To learn more about HEI, click here.