Melissa J. Durham is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, completed a residency in Community-based Pharmacy Practice, and has a Master of Academic Medicine degree, all from USC.
Dr. Durham is a clinical pharmacist at the USC Pain Center, where she established and runs a pharmacist-led pain medication management service for patients with a variety of complicated chronic nononcologic pain conditions. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with chronic pain through patient-centered and compassionate care. The value of her unique practice model has been recognized and published both nationally and internationally. Dr. Durham is also a practicing community pharmacist and provides a valuable and unique perspective of a clinician who is both a prescriber and a dispenser.
In her role as Assistant Dean of DEI, she leads the continual strategic planning, design, implementation, and assessment of the School of Pharmacy diversity, equity, inclusion, and well-being initiatives. Dr. Durham also contributes to several university-wide initiatives including as a member of the USC Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Task Force, a facilitator and culture journey partner for the USC Culture Journey, and a facilitator for the USC Race + Equity + Wellbeing series. Dr. Durham also served as Vice Chair for the American Pharmacists Association Task Force on Structural Racism in Pharmacy, and as a member of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Anti-racism Advisory Panel for the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. She also co-created and leads the School’s Wellness program, Project Wellness, a school-wide initiative whose mission is to lead, shape, and foster a culture of well-being for students, staff, faculty, and the community.
Dr. Durham teaches in a variety of subject areas, including pain management, cultural competence/humility, health equity/justice, leadership, well-being, and professional development, and has given numerous presentations and presented papers on the subjects of pain management, the U.S. opioid crisis, leadership, and health professional education. She precepts Doctor of Pharmacy students, community-based and ambulatory care pharmacy practice residents at the USC Pain Center, and has been voted as Professor of the Year by Doctor of Pharmacy students multiple times.