Roberto Mejia, Ph.D., MS
Senior Manager, Public Health Analytics
Dr. Mejia is a Senior Manager of Public Health Analytics for Maximus Public Health. He brings over 25 years of experience in public health and behavioral sciences with a focus on HIV/AIDS prevention, Global Health, and Chronic Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Since 1996, he has conducted research to identify the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, including drug abuse and predictors of violence among children and adolescents. In addition, he has been teaching public health and research methods for more than 20 years.
Dr. Mejia is currently an adjunct professor at Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, and visiting professor at the Laney Graduate School Masters in Development Practice program. Before transitioning to his current position at Maximus, he worked for eight years with Maximus Federal as a CDC contractor working as a public health analyst and biostatistician on population-based studies on alcohol use and alcohol screening and brief intervention in the US as well as surveillance activities including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD).
Before this, he was the chief scientist of a two-year population-based mental health study to identify the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Medellin, Colombia. This study was conducted in conjunction with researchers at Harvard University School of Medicine, the World Mental Health Consortium (WMH), CES University, School of Medicine in Medellin-Colombia, and local government. He also was the program director of the Colombian Mental Health Observatory in 2012. His leadership involved working with national stakeholders (i.e., federal, state, and local government, CBOs, primary care hospitals and mental health centers, IT engineers, and community advocates). He has published several peer-reviewed papers -- including epidemiological research studies identifying risk factors for HIV recent infection, alcohol and drug abuse among adolescents, and clinical studies on type 2 diabetes in the US. He also brings DPH experience, having worked as a program analyst for the State of Wisconsin Department of Health Care Financing.
Dr. Mejia holds a doctorate and master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master’s degree in Epidemiology and Doctor of Dental Sciences, DDS from Universidad CES, Medellin, Colombia.