Melissa Hawkins

Melissa Hawkins serves as Associate Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Health Studies at American University, where she applies epidemiological expertise to maternal and child health challenges. An accomplished researcher, she focuses on improving pregnancy outcomes and integrating Community Health Workers into U.S. health systems through clinical and community-based teams, with significant contributions to public health discourse through media outlets like The Conversation.

Her academic foundation includes a Ph.D. and Master of Health Science (M.H.S.) in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, complemented by undergraduate training at Emory University. Prior to joining American University in 2015, she gained practical experience as Research Director at TMNcorp and Senior Epidemiologist at Epidemiology International, addressing women's and children's health issues.

Dr. Hawkins' research spans epidemiology, maternal/child health, nutrition, and food security with emphasis on health equity. Her work consistently addresses disparities in vulnerable populations through community-engaged approaches, particularly focusing on Black women's maternal health and childhood obesity interventions in urban settings. She actively translates research into community health improvements through partnerships with faith-based and community organizations.

Analysis of her 14 recent publications (2019-2025) reveals three dominant research trajectories: 1) Pandemic-related community resilience studies examining food security in Washington D.C. corner stores; 2) School-based childhood obesity interventions through the Healthy Schoolhouse 2.0 program; and 3) Maternal health research addressing perinatal depression and social determinants among Black women. Her HEAL-DC initiative exemplifies her commitment to health equity through community health worker integration.

She maintains an active mentoring role, having guided student researchers including Clermont M, Kohls L, Little S, Fuchs H, Bertrand A, Gatlin G, Mabry G, and Mishra C across multiple publications. Her advisory work focuses on translating academic research into practical community health solutions, particularly in nutrition literacy and pandemic response strategies.

Dr. Hawkins leads the HEAL-DC (Health Equity and Advancing Health Literacy-DC) initiative, which partners with faith-based and community organizations to address health disparities. Her team develops community health worker integration models while creating practical tools like nutrition literacy surveys for elementary students in food-insecure areas, demonstrating her commitment to actionable public health solutions.