Melissa Vaught, PhD

Melissa Vaught, PhD

Melissa Vaught, PhD, is the Director of Strategy and Operations for ITHS. In this role, she works closely with ITHS leaders, faculty and staff to design institute goals and activities and expand resources within ITHS and its partner institutions Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) region. She is one of the institute’s CTSA program administrators. Melissa leads the ITHS Office of Research Development, which oversees development of institute funding strategies and proposals and helps clinical and translational researchers navigate ITHS and related resources. She also serves as an internal consultant for teams across ITHS in designing and implementing projects and programs.

Melissa earned her PhD in Chemistry at Vanderbilt University and continued research at the interface of biology and chemistry as a postdoctoral fellow in Boston, MA. As a contractor at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), she managed daily operations and evaluation of post-publication projects and conducted research on post-publication events affecting the biomedical literature. She joined ITHS in 2018, serving first as Research Navigator before her promotion to Director of Research Development in 2019.

One of Melissa’s sparks is finding ways to do work that matters without burning out and making space to share successes and failures across communities. She is committed to mentoring others in crafting careers they love, especially post-PhD. She served as editor-in-chief for the National Postdoctoral Association newsletter and a member of the editorial board for the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Melissa is a member of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals and chairs its Academic Medical Center Affinity Group. Outside of work, you are likely to find her cooking, reading, or running (sometimes an absurdly long distance).