Melissa A. McDiarmid

Melissa A. McDiarmid serves as Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, with secondary appointments in Epidemiology & Public Health and membership in the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center's Population Science Program. As Division Head of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, she directs clinical, research, and global health initiatives focused on occupational hazards and toxic exposures.

Her academic credentials include a B.A. in Biological Sciences from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, M.D. from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health where she completed Occupational Medicine fellowship training. She maintains board certification in Internal Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Medical Toxicology.

Dr. McDiarmid's research spans critical occupational health domains:

• Long-term health effects of depleted uranium in Gulf War veterans with embedded fragments
• Genotoxic risks for healthcare workers handling chemotherapy drugs
• Global worker health initiatives through WHO collaborations
• Cancer risk from occupational chemical exposures

Her work integrates clinical toxicology, biomonitoring innovation, and epidemiological methods to address high-risk occupational exposures across military and healthcare settings.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent focus on uranium toxicity biomarkers, chromosomal damage from chemical exposures, and non-infectious healthcare hazards. Key methodological contributions include mail-based exposure assessment systems and fragment surveillance techniques now applied globally for toxic metal monitoring in wounded veterans.

Under her leadership, the Division achieved Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Center status in 2009, supporting Ebola response efforts and the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health through technical expertise in healthcare sector safety.

Dr. McDiarmid mentors trainees in occupational medicine while directing federally funded projects including the 20-year Gulf War DU cohort study and chemotherapy safety protocols for oncology personnel. Her division provides OSHA-mandated surveillance for high-risk workers and serves as the world's sole depleted uranium monitoring center.

The Occupational & Environmental Medicine Division operates as an international resource for toxic metal biomonitoring, with expertise applied to veterans' care globally and WHO technical assistance for healthcare worker protection standards.