A candidate for the COH Health Disparities associate/professor position is a professor of applied medical anthropology in a department of anthropology. They earned their Ph.D. in medical anthropology in 2006. From 2006 to 2008, they completed a postdoctoral fellowship in a school of public health, in a department of population and family health.  

During their tenure and since 2008, they taught and mentored BA, BS, MA, MD, and PhD students, re-designed courses to incorporate experiential and community service components, and developed medical anthropology and global health curricula that draw students from across majors. They have received several awards for excellence in undergraduate and graduate teaching, and a research mentor of the year award.

The candidate established a robust, externally-funded research agenda, which combines applied medical anthropology and public health. Their research interests are at the intersection of gender, health and governance, and specifically center on reproductive and sexual healthcare and policies through the social justice and health equity lens. Engaging in interdisciplinary and collaborative work, their scholarship encompasses projects in Europe and the United States. The candidate's growing expertise and their work’s impact have been recognized with invitations from 12 countries and prominent US institutes to present, collaboration, serving on review and ethics boards, and lead research projects. Their work has been supported by major funders, including the Fulbright Program, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the European Research Council, and the World Health Organization.

Research Talk: “Priorities in Reproductive & Sexual Healthcare & Policies through the Social Justice Lens”
Abstract: Reproductive and sexual health and policies loom large in recent social and political debates across the globe, especially in the United States (US), with significant policy changes currently underway. For example, access to abortion care has been severely restricted in 14 states, while some states have taken steps to protect this essential healthcare service with so-called shield laws (e.g., PA). Simultaneously, a historic expansion in access to family planning is also underway with the 2024 introduction of the Opill – the first over-the-counter birth control pill in the US – which promises to be transformative for reproductive health and autonomy for women, adolescents, and pregnancy capable people. But questions of cost and on-the-ground access are emerging as key issues. 

The increasingly fragmented reproductive policy landscape in the US is fueling the movement of healthcare providers to less restricted areas, further impacting access to a range of sexual and reproductive health services, and forcing people to travel longer distances for care. This changing reproductive health landscape threatens to deepen health disparities based on gender, race, ethnicity, income, distance from care, legal documentation status, and other forms of inequalities.
In this presentation, the candidate will draw on their long-term research which centers on reproductive and sexual health as critical areas of analysis of healthcare systems and questions of health equity in the following three domains: (1) the effects of restrictions on family planning policies and access to healthcare; (2) factors driving reproductive health travel across borders, both within a country and across international borders; and (3) the policy implementation, scale-up, and sustainability of new reproductive health services. They will also describe how their scholarship has impacted health policy.
The candidate will outline their plans for future research and their contributions to the College of Health at Lehigh University, including potential collaborations relevant for Pennsylvania with established state and regional networks of colleagues at the CONVERGE - Center for Innovative Research on Gender Health Equity, Ibis Reproductive Health, and OPEN - Ohio Policy Evaluation Network.