Melissa Walls, PhD

Melissa Walls, PhD (first-generation descendant of Bois Forte and Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe), is a Bloomberg Associate Professor of American Health in the Department of International Health. She is the inaugural director of the Center for American Indian Health’s new Great Lakes Hub in Duluth, Minnesota. An expert in diabetes and substance use prevention, she has engaged in health research partnerships with Native communities for over 17 years. Her involvement in community-based participatory research projects includes mental health epidemiology; culturally relevant, family-based substance use prevention and mental health promotion programming and evaluation; and examining the impact of stress and mental health on diabetes and related health outcomes, including obesity.