Melinda Davis, PhD

Melinda Davis, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Director of Community Engaged Research for the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). Dr. Davis earned her PhD in social-developmental psychology from the University of Vermont (2010) with a focus on qualitative research and participatory research methods. She has over 10 years of experience working with patients, health system partners, and multidisciplinary teams to identify and address local health disparities through applied research in rural and underserved communities. Melinda has worked as a field-based practice facilitator, served as the PI or Co-PI on more than 15 participatory research studies, and has helped build curriculum to identify and translate evidence-based interventions into real-world settings (see http://communityresearchtoolbox.org/).

 

As a National Cancer Institute Cancer Prevention, Control, Behavioral Sciences, and Population Sciences Career Development Awardee, Dr. Davis is currently conducting mixed-methods research to improve implementation of interventions to increase colorectal cancer screening by leveraging payer – clinic – and community-based partnerships. Her work is informed by members of the Community Health Advocacy and Research Alliance (CHARA), an academic-community collaborative supported by PCORI with a mission to “identify, develop, and conduct health research to answer questions that matter here” (see http://www.communityresearchalliance.org/). For her commitment to community-based research translation, Dr. Davis was a nominee for the 2018 OHSU Distinguished Faculty Award and she received the 2016 Emerging Leader award from the Oregon Public Health Association.