Melissa McPheeters, PhD, MPH

Dr. McPheeters is a healthcare epidemiologist who has worked in evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness for over a decade. Her work combines research translation and policy, including the role of stakeholders in comparative effectiveness research, with the use of large databases and conduct of systematic reviews. In addition to her academic appointments, Dr. McPheeters serves as the Director of Vanderbilt’s Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC), a center funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality which conducts systematic reviews, technical briefs and future research projects on topics of high importance. Dr. McPheeters oversees all methods and methodologic training at the center, is the lead on engaging stakeholders and managing communication, guides topic development and refinement and leads individual reviews. She leads all dissemination efforts of the Center, and is the primary liaison to the Eisenberg Center on the development of clinician and patient guides and CME materials based on the Center’s reviews. The Vanderbilt EPC has a particular focus on maternal and child health, and Dr. McPheeters leads all pediatric topics. This includes recent reviews on therapies for children with autism and ongoing work on adolescents with autism and children with cerebral palsy. Dr. McPheeters also conducts analyses of national data sets to examine key issues that children with special healthcare needs and their families face.