Claude Ann Mellins, PhD

Dr. Mellins is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years of experience conducting research and developing programs focused on psychosocial aspects of HIV disease, mental illness, substance use, and stress and trauma in children, adolescents, young adults in the US and globally. She is a Professor of Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry and Sociomedical Sciences) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), the Associate Director of the Gender, Sexuality and Health Area of Psychiatry at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, the co-director of the NIMH-funded HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, and Director of the Behavioral and Social Sciences related to HIV T32 post-doctoral fellowship Area Gender, Sexuality and Health. She has been the Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Investigator of a large number of foundation and federally-funded research projects based in the US and internationally. Her research has focused on critical psychological, social and structural factors that influence behavioral health outcomes (mental health, sexual and drug risk behavior, and treatment adherence) and has helped inform evidence-based therapeutic interventions for youth and families living with or affected by HIV in the US and globally, particularly in South Africa, Uganda, and Thailand. 

Dr. Mellins has also worked extensively in clinical roles as, a) the co-founder and Co-Director of the Office of Clinical Psychology, a professional home for clinical psychologists at CUIMC (2014-2023), b) co-founder and co-director of the Special Needs Clinic at CUIMC, one of the first and largest mental health clinics for women, children, adolescents and families affected by HIV (1992-2014), and c) the co-founder and program director of CopeColumbia, a peer support program to promote mental health and well-being in faculty and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2023).

For the past 9 years, Dr. Mellins has focused some of her work on wellbeing in academic settings, including studies of sexual health, gender-based misconduct, mental health, substance use, stress, and resilience in undergraduate and graduate students. She co-led the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT) study funded by Columbia University, and Led the 2018 and 2020 Columbia Student Wellbeing Surveys.  She is serving as the PI of the 2024 Columbia Student Health and Wellbeing Survey.