Melissa Cox

Melissa Cox, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. Her research focuses on the social ecology of youth and young adult alcohol misuse, integrating public health, developmental science, and prevention science to design innovative interventions. She holds a joint appointment as a Research Fellow at the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

Education:

• PhD in Health Behavior, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health (2016)
• MPH in Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan (2008)
• BA in Sociology, Boston College (2006)

Research Interests: Dr. Cox’s work emphasizes alcohol harm reduction through community-centered approaches. She develops mobile health (mHealth) interventions targeting high-risk drinking contexts, leveraging design thinking methodologies to engage young adults directly. Key areas include protective behavioral strategies, alcohol policy analysis, and opioid misuse prevention.

Awards & Grants:

• TIIP Award ($51,000) for design thinking-driven alcohol harm reduction project
• NIDA R34 Grant (R34DA051710): Text message intervention for opioid storage/disposal
• NIAAA K01 Grant (K01AA028540-01): Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention for young adult drinking

Advising & Service:

• Co-Chair, Society for Prevention Research Mid-Career Task Force
• Member, Society for Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50)
• Executive Board Member, Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce High-Risk Drinking

Labs/Teams: Leads the Project ACE Study (Alcohol, Community, and Environments) at UNC, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to address alcohol misuse through real-time data collection and adaptive interventions.