Rate My Professor Melissa McLeod

Melissa McLeod (Ngāi Tahu) is an Associate Professor and public health physician in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, within the Health Sciences Division. She holds qualifications including MBChB, MPH, PhD, and is a Fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine (FNZCPHM), as well as a member of Te ORA, the Māori Medical Practitioners Association. With over 14 years at the University of Otago, she works at Te Rōpū Rangahau Hauora a Eru Pōmare and teaches courses such as PUBH 711 Principles of Epidemiology, serving as convenor across Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin campuses. Her teaching integrates kaupapa Māori principles, achieving 100% pass rates for Māori students in Wellington over three years and earning recognition for creating culturally safe learning environments that empower students to address health inequities affecting Māori communities.

Her research focuses on Māori health, epidemiology, and eliminating ethnic health inequalities in Aotearoa New Zealand, with contributions to cancer screening programs, ethnicity data quality improvement, and equity-informed modeling of health interventions. Notable publications include Teng et al. (2026) "Is ethnicity an independent predictor of health need? Linked cohort logistic regression analysis to predict amenable mortality" in the New Zealand Medical Journal; Park et al. (2026) "Helicobacter pylori Screen-and-Treat programs for gastric cancer prevention: IARC Working Group Report" in the New England Journal of Medicine; and Mülder et al. (2026) "Optimizing benefits-harms of H. pylori screen-and-treat programs tailored to the regional settings" in Helicobacter. She has held advisory roles on PHARMAC, the Bowel Screening Advisory Group, Māori Monitoring and Equity Advisory Groups, and served as a director on the ESR Board. Currently, she contributes to Pae Whakatere (BreastScreen Improvement Action Plan oversight) and Te Tauraki IMPB Data Subcommittee. For her excellence in teaching, she received the 2025 Te Whatu Kairangi Kaupapa Māori Teaching Excellence Award in Health Sciences and, in 2020, the CAPHIA Award for Excellence and Innovation in Public Health Teaching as part of a team. Her work has significant influence on public health education and Māori health equity.