PHS Welcomes New Faculty member Melanie Dove, M.P.H, Sc.D.

We are excited to share that Melanie Dove, M.P.H., Sc.D., has joined the Department of Public Health Sciences Division of Health Policy and Management as an Assistant Adjunct Professor. She is an epidemiologist with a focus on health policy, tobacco control, and maternal/child health.  

Dove joins us from the Quality, Safety, and Comparative Effectiveness Research Training in Primary Care (QSCERT-PC) Postdoctoral Scholar program at UC Davis Health where she applied her experience in tobacco policy research by collaborating with an interdisciplinary team from UC Davis and the California Tobacco Control Program to build a database of tobacco control policies in California called the Policy Evaluation Tracking System (PETS). The database will allow her to conduct research on the impact of tobacco policies and health behaviors. 

In addition, she is examining California Helpline data (with a focus on pregnant women) during the Medi-Cal Incentives to Quit Project (MIQS), which gave smokers incentives for calling the Helpline and engaging in cessation counseling.

Her research also includes the impact of the Affordable Care Act on health insurance among pregnant women and access to contraceptives among women of reproductive age.  

Dove completed her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Analysis and Design at UC Irvine. She then obtained her Master’s of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health. She received her Doctorate of Science (Sc.D.) from Harvard. Her dissertation assessed the impact smoke-free air laws have on children's exposure to secondhand smoke and respiratory illnesses.