Melissa Habrat, M.P.H., DrPh

Deputy Director of Clinical Research Informatics

Co-Lead, Clinical Research Informatics Supporting Principal Investigators (CRISPI)

DrPH, Medical College of Wisconsin

M.P.H., University of Washington

B.S., Limestone University

509-236-9748

melissa.habrat@nih.gov

Dr. Melissa L. Habrat is a senior healthcare IT and public health strategy executive whose work bridges digital infrastructure, clinical research operations, and system optimization. She brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across academic medical centers and research enterprises, leading enterprise research IT strategy, governance, and multimillion-dollar digital transformation initiatives. Her work focuses on building scalable, compliant data ecosystems and integrating complex clinical and research data, including EHR, genomic, biomedical, and imaging platforms, to support translational science and advanced analytics.

Dr. Habrat earned her MPH from the University of Washington and her DrPH from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her doctoral research examined the lived experiences of Social Determinants of Health screening among trauma patients and care teams, resulting in a novel alignment framework that identifies structural gaps in communication, follow-up, and perceived intent that influence outcomes. Across her roles, she emphasizes interoperable data architecture, governance-driven decision-making, and the responsible integration of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to advance scientific discovery and improve health system performance.