Melissa joined HDR UK in March 2026 as a Product Owner in the Technology Team. She has been working in sensitive health data infrastructure for research since 2017, when she joined the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) as a Programme and Partner Manager. At GA4GH, she supported and guided the creation of global genomic data standards, covering genomic knowledge, data security, data use, and researcher IDs. She was also instrumental in designing and running the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion team, focusing on standards creation that meets the needs of a diverse global community, as well as the Technical Alignment Subcommittee, which ensured alignment and interoperability across standards and processes. Following that, she joined the ELIXIR Hub with a dual focus: creating guidance to mature and harmonise genomic data-sharing organisations and processes, and guiding the technical pillar of the €40 million, 23-country European Genomic Data Infrastructure project. Melissa holds an MBA, as well as a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she studied the epigenetics of fetal brain development in a model of autism. She brings her combination of scientific and business knowledge to translate diverse stakeholder needs into useful technical infrastructure.
