Melinda Pettigrew, PhD, is a Professor of Epidemiology. She completed a fellowship from the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women and was a Public Voices Thought Leaders Fellow. Professor Pettigrew has an international reputation in the molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases. Professor Pettigrew's research focuses on pathobionts of the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts (e.g., Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and the growing public health threat of antibiotic resistance. Her current work utilizes a combined approach involving microbiology and infectious disease epidemiology to identify factors that influence whether pathobionts asymptomatically colonize or cause diseases such as pneumonia and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Additional projects focus on how disruptions of homeostasis in the respiratory and gastrointestinal microbiome influence colonization resistance, development of antibiotic resistance, and risk of both hospital and community acquired infections. Current projects utilize next-generation sequence technologies (e.g., whole-genome sequencing, 16S rRNA gene microbial profiling, and RNA-sequencing) to examine the complex relationships between the microbiota, antibiotic exposure, and risk of infections. She serves on the Steering and Executive Committees for the Antibiotic Resistance Leadership Group (ARLG). As the Associate Director of the Scientific Leadership Core, focusing on Diversity, Professor Pettigrew leads efforts implement and integrate principles of diversity, access, equity, and inclusion throughout the ARLG. Professor Pettigrew serves on the editorial board of mBio.