Melissa Perry

Melissa Perry is an American epidemiologist and microbiologist, who is the inaugural dean of the College of Public Health at George Mason University. Previously, she served as chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University between 2011 and 2022. Perry was chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (NCEH/ATSDR) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 2015 and 2019.

Education and early life

Perry was born in Pittsfield Massachusetts in 1966 and grew up in Northern Vermont. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology at the University of Vermont, and masters and doctoral degrees from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.

Research work

Perry spent 13 years as faculty with the department of environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her work at Harvard included conducting occupational health research on the causes of injuries in meatpacking plants, which later became important for understanding the inordinate risks faced by US meatpacking workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2011, Perry was appointed chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University. In 2022, Perry was hired as dean of the College of Public Health at George Mason University.

At George Mason University, Perry directs a lab that investigates the impact of various environmental exposures on human health, focusing on reproductive toxicity caused by pesticide exposures. While located at George Washington University, Perry's lab also developed new techniques for high-volume identification of chromosomal abnormalities in sperm cells. The lab has conducted multiple studies to understand the link between chromosomal abnormalities caused by environmental risk factors. In 2015, the lab was involved in conducting the first large scale epidemiological study to look at organophosphate poisoning and chromosomal abnormalities in adult men. 

Research from the lab provided extensive evidence showing automated methods are superior to manual methods for estimating sex chromosome disomy through fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques. The lab also published the largest study to date to provide estimates of sex chromosome disomy among men attending fertility clinics. Most recently, lab members have investigated exposure to commonly used herbicides in the United States, including 2,4-D and glyphosate, and have investigated environmental and reproductive health among men of color in Washington, D.C.

Honors and awards

Perry is past co-chair of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Emerging Science and chair of the review committee of the Health Effects Institute. She is past president of the American College of Epidemiology (2014–15) and is a fellow of the Collegium Ramazzini,.

Perry was chosen to participate in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Fellowship. The ELAM program is dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. She was also a 2021 recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Fellowship to Albania to conduct research and lecture in public health capacity building. While in Albania, she gave multiple lectures to Albanian University students and scientists at the Albanian Institute of Public Health and the Albanian Academy of Sciences. She worked with the United States Embassy in Albania to produce COVID19 prevention messages for the Albanian people.