Dr. John C. Melnick, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, is the son of Arseny and Rose Melnick. He attended public schools, graduating from the Rayen School in 1946.

In 1949, Dr. Melnick graduated from Youngstown College (now Youngstown State University) with a degree in Pre-Med. He received a teaching certificate after completing graduate work in education, followed by a one-year Research Fellowship in Biochemistry at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Melnick received his Doctor of Medicine Degree in 1955 from Case Western Reserve. After interning and completing his residency in Radiology with the Youngstown Hospital Association, Dr. Melnick served a year as a Clinical Fellow in Radiology at the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Melnick served as a staff Radiologist at Southside and Northside Medical centers of the Western Reserve Care System, Chief of the Diagnostic Imaging Department, and Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine. In 1966 Dr. Melnick discovered a rare bone disease, Melnick Needles Syndrome, which is named in his honor. His writings on the syndrome, as well as other topics, have been published in major medical textbooks and journals.

Dr. Melnick is past president of the Mahoning County Medical Society. During the Society's centennial in 1972, he served as editor of the Bulletin, which published a number of historical articles. This became the basis of his book "A History of Medicine in Youngstown and Mahoning County," published in 1973.

Dr. Melnick was knighted by the Order of St. John in 1979, selected as Doctor of the Year by the Mahoning County Medical Society in 1981, and received the Priscilla Taylor Man of the Year Award from the Ballet Western Reserve in 1985.

In 1998, Dr. Melnick retired from his practice . Since then, he has been very active in the community. In addition to founding the Rose Melnick Medical Museum, he is currently involved in developing a Mill Creek Park Museum and financed the construction of an observation tower in the park, named after his father.