Welcome to Dr. Melissa MacKay, Assistant Professor in Public Health at the Department of Population Medicine

The Ontario Veterinary College’s (OVC) Department of Population Medicine is pleased to welcome Dr. Melissa MacKay as an assistant professor in public health.

Dr. MacKay brings a wealth of experience as a public health scholar and practitioner. She holds both a Master of Public Health (MPH) and a PhD in Public Health from the University of Guelph, where she has also taught in the Master of Public Health program. Her career spans roles in academia, public health units, non-profit organizations, government, and private-sector consultancies.

“As someone who has personally benefited from the Ontario Veterinary College’s commitment to excellence in education and research, through my MPH, PhD, and postdoctoral training, I’m thrilled to be returning to the Department of Population Medicine as an Assistant Professor,” says MacKay. “I’m excited to contribute to the next generation of public health professionals and to continue advancing research that supports healthy communities.”

She previously held a faculty position in Interdisciplinary Studies at Conestoga College and completed two postdoctoral fellowships—one at the University of Guelph’s Health by Design Lab and another at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Her postdoctoral work focused on enhancing public health communication competencies, effective risk communication, climate adaptation in the built environment, and exploring the governance of generative AI in public health.

MacKay’s interdisciplinary research interests include health, crisis and risk communication; public trust and transparency; governance of emerging technologies; and public health pedagogy. She has contributed to national frameworks such as the Public Health Communication Competency Framework and the Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada. Her work emphasizes trust, equity, and knowledge mobilization—ensuring that public health research informs real-world policy and practice.

Her research has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, among others.

MacKay currently teaches in the Master of Public Health program, including courses such as Health Promotion and Public Health Practicum I and II. She welcomes inquiries from students interested in applied public health research, particularly in the areas of health communication, generative AI governance, and social media strategies.

“We are very pleased and excited to welcome Dr. MacKay to the department,” says Dr. Todd Duffield, Chair of the Department of Population Medicine. “Dr. MacKay brings a wealth of public health, communications, and stakeholder experience that will enhance and build on our very successful and growing public health graduate and research programs.”

We are thrilled to have Dr. MacKay join the department and look forward to the innovation, collaboration and public health leadership she brings to our community.