Dr. Melody R. Wilkinson is an internationally and nationally recognized educator, scholar, clinician, and academic leader whose work advances graduate nursing education, health equity, and the clinical management of infectious diseases. She is an expert in competency-based nurse practitioner education and leads innovative, experiential learning models grounded in community engagement, with a particular focus on rural Appalachia.
Dr. Wilkinson has held multiple academic leadership roles, including Director of Curriculum and Learning (2022–2023) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Program Director (2015–2020). From 2020 to 2022, she served as a COVID-19 Clinical Consultant with the CDC Foundation, supporting West Virginia’s statewide pandemic response and contributing to clinical and public health efforts addressing an HIV outbreak associated with injection drug use in Appalachia.
She teaches across the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) programs and maintains active clinical practice as an HIV clinician. Her research program centers on health equity, community-engaged and experiential learning, and innovative pedagogies that prepare nurse practitioners to deliver culturally humble, socially accountable care in rural and underserved settings.
Dr. Wilkinson is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP). She earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duke University, Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Virginia University.
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Professor, SON - Nursing Academic Department