Melissa A. Brown, PhD

Melissa Brown, PhD has been the MSTP Associate Director of Student Advising since 2017. Dr. Brown plays an essential role in the program and is involved in recruitment, administration, and teaching activities. She has both a formal and informal role in advising students, particularly those in the research phase when she assists in choosing rotation laboratories and selecting a laboratory for dissertation research. She also helps students navigate academic or personal issues that may arise and is always available for consultation by appointment.

Dr. Brown teaches the MSTP Grant Writing Course, an intensive and highly interactive class that culminates in a complete draft of a fellowship application and a mock NIH study section that allows students to receive feedback on the written product prior to submission. Nearly half of all MSTP students secure an NRSA fellowship during the research phase of training, a testament to the effectiveness of this course and Dr. Brown's mentorship.

Dr. Brown received her doctorate in Microbiology-Immunology from the University of Washington in 1983 and completed a fellowship in allergy and immunology at the NIH in 1987. She previously held academic faculty positions at Oregon Health Sciences University and Emory University School of Medicine. She has been continuously funded by the NIH, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation for her work on how innate immune cells regulate the adaptive T cell response in autoimmunity and has published her work in high-tier journals.