Michael Meit serves as Director of the East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health and Research, located in the Appalachian Highlands of Northeast Tennessee, and as Deputy Director for ETSU’s HRSA-funded rural health research center, the ETSU/NORC Rural Health Equity Research Center. Michael currently leads studies focused on the evaluation of rural health programs, opioid misuse, and food insecurity, among others. He is a long-time rural health researcher and evaluator, having worked on federal, state and local projects for over 20 years.  Michael also serves as a co-investigator for the HRSA funded Center for Workforce Research in Public Health.  He serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, the Journal of Appalachian Health, Journal of Rural Mental Health, and Public Health Reports, and is a Governing Councilor for the American Public Health Association. In 2019 Michael was named the National Rural Health Association’s Outstanding Researcher.