Dr. Melissa J. Perry is the inaugural Dean of the College of Public Health at George Mason University and an internationally recognized environmental epidemiologist. She previously held faculty appointments at Harvard University and George Washington University, where she chaired the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

Her research examines the reproductive health effects of environmental contaminants and is recognized for advancing high-throughput imaging of sperm abnormalities and the impacts of ubiquitous chemicals on male reproductive health.

Dr. Perry is a Past President and Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and former Chair of the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Center for Environmental Health. She has held multiple leadership appointments with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, including Co-Chair of the Committee on Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions.

A Fulbright Global Scholar (Albania, 2021–2022), she has published more than 180 scientific works.