The weight of knowledge
How living with sickle cell shapes Melissa Creary’s mission for health justice
Melissa Creary, associate professor of Health Behavior & Health Equity and Global Public Health, turns a delayed childhood sickle cell diagnosis into two decades of science, policy and advocacy. From building CDC surveillance to researching racism and “bounded justice” in Brazil, she centers lived experience and community voices—insisting innovation like gene editing must deliver equity, not stigma.