Rate My Professor Melissa Perry

Dr. Melissa J. Perry serves as Dean and Professor in George Mason University's College of Public Health, with expertise in environmental and occupational health within Health Science. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Vermont in 1988, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa; Master of Health Science and Doctor of Science degrees in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1990 and 1993, respectively; and a Master of Business Administration from George Mason University's Costello School of Business, completed in 2025. Her distinguished career includes serving as Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health from 2011 to 2022, alongside appointments in Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and as Interim Associate Dean for Research. Previously, she was faculty at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health from 1999 to 2011, rising to Associate Professor of Occupational Epidemiology, and at the Medical College of Wisconsin from 1995 to 1999.

Dr. Perry's research in occupational and environmental epidemiology has garnered substantial funding from federal agencies and foundations, yielding over 150 peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, book chapters, and commentaries. Notable works include "Effects of neonicotinoid pesticide exposure on human health: a systematic review" in Environmental Health Perspectives (2016), "Sperm DNA: organization, protection and vulnerability: from basic science to clinical applications—a position report" in Human Reproduction (2010), and "Cadmium exposure in association with history of stroke and heart failure" in Environmental Research (2010). She has delivered presentations at over 25 American universities and in more than 17 countries. Among her leadership roles are Past-President and Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology, Chair of the Health Effects Institute Review Committee, member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, and Past Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Recent honors encompass designation as a Top 2025 Health Care Innovator by the Washington Business Journal and honorary membership in the Academy of Sciences of Albania, following her 2021-2022 Fulbright Fellowship in Albania.