Kath M. Melia (died 25 October 2022) was a sociologist, professor of nursing, researcher, academic author and campaigner for ethics in healthcare.

[2] As Head of the School, Melia led a £2.5m joint bid with Queen Margaret University and Edinburgh Napier University to create a centre for integrated healthcare research which in turn developed into UK-wide Clinical Academic Careers for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals.

[5] She questioned the merits of qualitative research interviews,[6] and the ongoing 'paternalistic' relationship between doctors and nurses,[7] and dissonance between theory and practice.

[8] Her work continued the thinking of Glaser and Strauss on Grounded Theory (1987) which challenged received wisdom in the scientific community.

[2] She died on 22 October 2022 in Edinburgh, leaving a legacy to the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR) which is interdisciplinary across stem cell biology, tissue and inflammation research.