Melissa D. Begg is the dean of the Columbia School of Social Work, in

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and a professor of social work and of

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

at Columbia. Her research expertise concerns the

population health Population health has been defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. It ha ...

, including the use of correlated data from family studies.

Education and career

Begg is originally from

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. She majored in mathematics at

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

, and has a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

, completed in 1989. She has worked as a faculty member at Columbia University since 1989, for many years as part of the

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (formally the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health) is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in the ...

. From 2006 to 2018, she co-directed Columbia's Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. She became Vice Provost for Academic Programs in 2014, and dean of the Columbia School of Social Work in 2019.

Recognition

Begg was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...

in 2012. Also in 2012, she became the inaugural recipient of the Lagakos Distinguished Alumni Award of the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Biostatistics. She was the 2013 recipient of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health / Pfizer Award for Teaching Excellence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Begg, Melissa Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Scientists from Queens, New York American biostatisticians American women statisticians Women biostatisticians Fairfield University alumni Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Columbia University School of Social Work faculty Fellows of the American Statistical Association