Building a Career in Public Health: Insights Across Sectors

October 7, 2026
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
SPH I 1655
Sponsored by: SPH Careers Office
Contact Information: Ari Renda, arirenda@umich.edu

More Information & Registration

Join the SPH Careers Team to hear from Melissa McPheeters who is the Senior Director for Analytics at RTI International, which is a non-profit scientific research institute that leverages advanced analytics and data science to solve global problems in health, education, environment, policy, and food security. Dr. McPheeters will share her career journey working across public health fields (government, academia, hospital systems, research institute) and her recommendations for current public health students in preparing for their future careers.

Melissa McPheeters is an epidemiologist and public health informatician with more than two decades of experience in health services research, clinical and public health informatics, and data science. Dr. McPheeters’ recent work has focused on building and leading new informatics initiatives, with particular emphasis on the appropriate collection, integration, and use of complex data to track and respond to health issues. Prior to joining RTI, Dr. McPheeters served as the inaugural Director of the Tennessee Department of Health Office of Informatics and Analytics where she developed a program to synergize informatics efforts across the department, including developing programs related to surveillance, interoperability, advanced analytics and visualization and data governance. She then led the design and implementation of a program to ensure genomically appropriate care at the front lines of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center health system.