Melissa Goldin Evans, PhD, MsPH

Melissa Goldin Evans is a Community Health Sciences researcher in maternal and child health who specializes in reproductive healthcare access and equity issues. She is faculty within the Department of Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences and affiliated with the Mary Amelia Center for Women’s Health Equity Research (MAC). Her academic training and research experiences include examining multiple factors related to contraceptive access among low-income women in Louisiana utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her current evaluation portfolio includes state programs that provide mental health consultation telehealth services to pediatric and perinatal healthcare providers and a local postpartum nurse home visiting program. As a community health researcher, she also works alongside many community-based organizations to improve perinatal maternal and infant health. Presently, she is a co-investigator on a NIH-funded Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence to address disparities in maternal morbidities and mortalities in the Gulf South. As deputy director of the community partners core, she co-leads efforts to incorporate community expertise and priorities in all areas of the multilevel project.