Melissa L. Gilliam

Gilliam was born in Washington, D.C., to journalist Dorothy Butler Gilliam and abstract painter Sam Gilliam.[1] Her mother was the first African-American journalist for The Washington Post.[2] She earned her Bachelor's degree in English literature from Yale University, a Master of Arts degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Oxford, a medical degree from Harvard University, and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois Chicago.[3]

Gilliam joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2005.[4] She eventually became the chief of family planning and contraceptive research and head of the program in gynecology for children, adolescents, and young women at the University of Chicago Medical Center. In this role, her research team followed African American teenage mothers to see how their education, housing, exercise, weight gain, emotional state, and relationships influence their risk of a repeat pregnancy.[5]

As a result of her research, Gilliam was named a Faculty Fellow of the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence for the 2013–14 academic year.[6] During this time, Gilliam founded the Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Innovation in Sexual and Reproductive Health (Ci3) that used games, narrative, and design to understand and address the social and structural determinants of adolescent sexual and reproductive health.[7] The Ci3's three labs are divided between focuses on game design, storytelling, and design thinking.[8] In her Game Changer Chicago Design Lab, she used video games and digital storytelling to discuss sexual violence prevention in a "safe risk taking" manner. She also received a MacArthur Foundation grant to develop a game called A Day in the Life to teach teenagers about HIV, bullying, teen pregnancy, healthy relationships, and intersections between home and school life.[9] In 2015, Gilliam was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for being "an authority on contraception and adolescent health."[10]

In 2016, Gilliam was appointed as the University of Chicago's Vice Provost for Academic Leadership, Advancement, and Diversity and was named as the Ellen H. Block Professor in Health and Justice.[4][11] In 2020, she was named as a Distinguished Service Professor in recognition of her work supporting faculty as Vice Provost.[12] In May 2021, it was announced that Gilliam would become Executive Vice President and Provost of Ohio State University in August 2021, the first woman of color to serve in the latter position.[13] In the same year, she joined the board of directors at Talis Biomedical.[14] In October 2023, it was announced that Gilliam will become President at Boston University in July 2024.[15]

Gilliam currently serves on the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory and previously advised the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[16]

Gilliam's research covers adolescent health and education, domestically and internationally, through methods including narrative, technology, and design. This work receives funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, The Ford Foundation, and others.[17]

Gilliam is married to physician-researcher William Grobman. Their son Ben is studying medicine at Harvard Medical School, and their daughter is studying economics and math at Yale University.[15]