Melissa Gonzales appointed to National Academies committee examining veterans’ health
Melissa Gonzales, PhD, MS, professor of environmental health at the Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee conducting a major epidemiologic study on the health of veterans who served at Fort McClellan between 1979 and its closure in 1999.
The committee will lead a comprehensive assessment of the health status of veterans who served at the Anniston, Ala., U.S. Army post, including a national survey evaluating current health conditions and potential environmental exposures encountered during military service. The group will also complete a retrospective, records-based mortality analysis of Veterans who served during the same timeframe.
“The contributions and service of our committee members are critical to our work and we’re grateful to have Dr. Gonzalez’s expertise as part of this important effort,” says Elizabeth Eide, executive director of the National Academies’ Center for Health, People, and Places.
Nationally recognized for her work in environmental health research and education, Gonzales is an advisor to professional organizations, federal agencies and health effects research panels shaping the direction of occupational and environmental health policy and practice. At Tulane, she serves as program director for the MPH in Environmental Health Sciences and on the steering committee for the undergraduate Climate Change: Science and Practice minor.
Gonzales has served on three National Academies committees: the Committee to Review the Health Effects in Vietnam Veterans of Exposure to Herbicides—Tenth Biennial Update; the Committee to Evaluate the Potential Exposure to Agent Orange/TCDD Residue and Level of Risk of Adverse Health Effects for Aircrew of Post-Vietnam C-123 Aircraft; and the Committee on Guidance on PFAS Exposure, Testing, and Clinical Follow-Up.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are a nonprofit comprised of three honorific societies – the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine – that provide independent analysis and advice to the government and public to help solve complex problems and inform policy.
