Melissa Lewis, PhD (Cherokee Nation)

Assistant Professor, Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Missouri

Dr. Melissa Lewis is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, Duluth in the Department of Biobehavioral Health & Population Sciences. She is also a research fellow at the Research for Indigenous Community Health (RICH) Center in Duluth, MN. Dr. Lewis received her PhD in Medical Family Therapy and is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy approved supervisor. She is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, which informs her clinical and research values, goals, and interests. Clinically, she supervises medical and behavioral health students using an integrated care model (the integration of mental health into primary care) and social justice focus. Her research interests span 1) integrated care in both military and Indigenous populations, 2) examining the role of stress and trauma on cardiovascular disease in Indigenous populations, and 3) co-creating and evaluating interventions aimed to empower Indigenous families and communities by privileging Indigenous knowledge and practices.