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NORC at the University Chicago

Melissa Callaham

Pronouns: She/Her

Research Scientist
Health Sciences
Melissa specializes in health informatics and program evaluation, advancing patient-centered care and public health outcomes through research.

Melissa brings over sixteen years of experience in health informatics, program evaluation, and health services research.  With extensive expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, Melissa plays a pivotal role in advancing numerous projects through innovative study design, data analysis, surveys, and cost-effectiveness evaluations. She excels in engaging stakeholders, facilitating qualitative research, developing resources to address health disparities, and advancing health informatics initiatives to improve data integration and decision-making in healthcare programs. Her work shapes strategies that improve patient-centered health outcomes and inform effective program implementation.

At NORC, Melissa has made significant contributions to multiple large-scale national projects. She has provided critical support for the evaluation of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s clinical decision support programs and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s provider resiliency programs, leveraging her skills in qualitative interviews, administrative data analysis, and cost-benefit assessments to inform program outcomes and future policy directions.

Prior to joining NORC, Melissa held key roles at RTI International, the American Institutes for Research, and the National Association of Community Health Centers. Her notable accomplishments include leading the user-centered design testing of the Community Benefit Insight web tool for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, guiding federal and private data infrastructure strategies, managing projects that integrated patient-centered outcomes research into clinical decision support systems, and developing an impactful dashboard for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and other safety net providers to analyze and report EHR data.

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Expertise

Education

MSPH

University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Health, Chapel Hill

Health Informatics Graduate Certificate

University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Health, Chapel Hill

Global Health Graduate Certificate

University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Health, Chapel Hill

BS

Syracuse University

Honors & Awards

RTI Innovation Award | 2016

RTI International- Awarded to fund innovation work in the area of m-health in WASH programs.

RTI President's Award | 2017

RTI International- Awarded in recognition of significant contributions to RTI's strategic goals that contributed to the institute's success.

Publications

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