Joy A. Melnikow, M.D., M.P.H. Director, Center for Healthcare Policy and Research Professor, Family and Community Medicine  Address UC Davis Medical Center 4860 Y Street, Ste 2300 Sacramento, California 95817 Phone (916) 734-3160 e-mail jamelnikow@ucdavis.edu Joy Melnikow, MD, MPH is the Director of the Center for Healthcare Policy and Research and Professor of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, Davis. She serves on the executive committee for the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, and is a member of the US Preventive Services Task Force. She received her MD from UC San Francisco and her MPH in epidemiology from UC Berkeley. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at the University of Massachusetts, worked for the Indian Health Service, and was on the faculty of MetroHealth Medical Center/Case Western University before coming to UC Davis in 1992. Her research focuses on cancer prevention, women’s health, particularly in regard to decision making and patient preferences, comparative effectiveness, and cost effectiveness. With funding by private foundations, the American Cancer Society, the California Breast Cancer Research Program, and the National Cancer Institute, she has pursued research on effectiveness, preferences, decision making, and cost-effectiveness of preventive interventions related primarily to breast and cervical cancer.

Recent Publications

Preferences for surveillance strategies for women treated for high-grade precancerous cervical lesions. Kuppermann M, Melnikow J, Slee C, Tancredi DJ, Kulasingam S, Birch S, Helms LJ, Bayoumi AM, Sawaya GF. Gynecol Oncol. 2010 Aug 1;118(2):108-15.

ACP Journal Club. Review: Tamoxifen, raloxifene, and tibolone prevent primary invasive breast cancer but increase risk for adverse outcomes. Melnikow J. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Mar 16;152(6):JC3-4. No abstract available.

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia outcomes after treatment: long-term follow-up from the British Columbia Cohort Study. Melnikow J, McGahan C, Sawaya GF, Ehlen T, Coldman A. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 May 20;101(10):721-8. Epub 2009 May 12.

Posttreatment human papillomavirus testing for recurrent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: a systematic review. Chan BK, Melnikow J, Slee CA, Arellanes R, Sawaya GF. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Apr;200(4):422.e1-9. Epub 2009 Jan 24. Review.

Tamoxifen for breast cancer risk reduction: impact of alternative approaches to quality-of-life adjustment on cost-effectiveness analysis. Melnikow J, Birch S, Slee C, McCarthy TJ, Helms LJ, Kuppermann M. Med Care. 2008 Sep;46(9):946-53.

Do personal and societal preferences differ by socio-demographic group? Franks P, Lubetkin EI, Melnikow J.
Health Econ, 2007 Mar;16(3):319-25.

Chemoprevention: drug pricing and mortality: the case of tamoxifen Melnikow J, Kuenneth C, Helms LJ, Barnato A, Kuppermann M, Birch S, Nuovo J.
Cancer, 2006 Sep 1;107(5):950-8.

Cost-effectiveness of extending cervical cancer screening intervals among women with prior normal pap tests. Kulasingam SL, Myers ER, Lawson HW, McConnell KJ, Kerlikowske K, Melnikow J, Washington AE, Sawaya GF.Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Feb;107(2 Pt 1):321-8.

Human papillomavirus triage of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance: cost-effective, but at what cost?
Melnikow J, Birch S . J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Jan 18;98(2):82-3.

Recruitment strategies for minority participation: challenges and cost lessons from the POWER interview.
Keyzer JF, Melnikow J, Kuppermann M, Birch S, Kuenneth C, Nuovo J, Azari R, Oto-Kent D, Rooney M.
Ethn Dis. 2005 Summer;15(3):395-406.

"I'm going to die of something anyway": women's perceptions of tamoxifen for breast cancer risk reduction.  
Paterniti DA, Melnikow J, Nuovo J, Henderson S, DeGregorio M, Kuppermann M, Nease R. Ethn Dis. 2005 Summer;15(3):365-72.

Preferences of Women Evaluating Risks of Tamoxifen (POWER) study of preferences for tamoxifen for breast cancer risk reduction.   Melnikow J, Paterniti D, Azari R, Kuenneth C, Birch S, Kuppermann M, Nuovo J, Keyzer J, Henderson S.
Cancer. 2005 May 15;103(10):1996-2005.

Medical adherence research: time for a change in direction?   Kravitz RL, Melnikow J.
Med Care. 2004 Mar;42(3):197-9. Review.

Networked for change? Identifying obstetric opinion leaders and assessing their opinions on cesarean delivery   
Kravitz RL, Melnikow J, Romano PS, Franz CE, Gilbert W, Zach A, Paterniti DA, Krackardt D. Social Science and Medicine, 2003;57:2423-2434.

Conservative versus aggressive follow up of mildly abnormal Pap smears: Testing for process utility
Birch S, Melnikow J, Kuppermann M. Health Economics 2003;7(2):3-8.

Management of the low-grade abnormal Pap smear: What are women’s preferences?    
Melnikow J, Kuppermann M, Birch S, Chan BK, Nuovo J. J Fam Pract 2002;51(10):849-

Reporting number needed to treat and absolute risk reduction in randomized controlled trials    
Nuovo J, Melnikow J, Chang D. JAMA 2002;282(21):2813-14.