Melissa Ross

Melissa is a doctoral candidate in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research at the University Of Maryland School Of Pharmacy simultaneously earning a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Applied Sociology.

Melissa’s research interests include applying advanced preference elicitation methods to examine health behaviors; specifically, she is interested in the medicalization of behaviors among college aged youth. Her dissertation utilizes a MaxDiff technique to examine how undergraduate college students prioritize the perceived benefit-to-risk tradeoffs of engaging in nonmedical use of prescription stimulants, which are Schedule II controlled substances commonly prescribed for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Melissa’s dissertation also utilizes a dual-response CBC to elicit the components of a campus program aiming to reduce nonmedical use of prescription stimulants on campus that would be preferred by undergraduate students.

Since 2013 Melissa has worked as a graduate research assistant with Dr. Susan dosReis of the Pharmaceutical Health Services Research Department at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy.  In this role, Melissa has gained experience designing, analyzing, and publishing studies utilizing both MaxDiff and CBC methodologies to examine caregiver preferences around pediatric mental health treatment options and outcomes.

Melissa’s hobbies include running, cooking, playing the violin, doing home renovations, and practicing yoga.