Dr. Meli’sa S. Crawford is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Riverside in the Division of Biomedical Sciences. Her current research focuses on elucidating the communication between the lungs and the gut by understanding how exposure to environmental pollutants induce chronic airway inflammation and alter intestinal barrier function. Dr. Crawford received her B.S. in Psychology with a minor in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Arizona in 2012. In 2014, she pursued her Ph.D. in Biology with a focus in Physiology from Arizona State University, where her dissertation work focused on the effects of poor dietary consumption on the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome and gut dysbiosis. In 2021, Dr. Crawford received a grant from the Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety to continue her investigation of the effects of agricultural pollution on intestinal physiology. Dr. Crawford is an active member in the American Physiological Society (APS) and in 2022 was selected to be a postdoctoral trainee on the APS Animal Care and Experimentation committee. In March 2023, Dr. Crawford was awarded the University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue her work in gastrointestinal physiology. Following her postdoctoral research, she will continue her passion for teaching and metabolic and gastrointestinal work as a tenure-tracked professor. Dr. Crawford is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and is committed to mentorship and increasing participation and access to opportunities for underrepresented minorities in STEM.