Description:

In the year since the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Center decision and subsequent policy changes, our student body has had growing concerns about how they will impact reproductive rights and women’s healthcare throughout the nation, particularly in our Midwest and Chicago communities. As such, we are eager to learn about the unique ways in which physician scientists can promote reproductive justice. Therefore, we are excited to assemble this panel of physician scientists from a variety of backgrounds to discuss their own approaches and experiences in clinical care, research, advocacy, and more—as they apply to reproductive healthcare.

Our panelists include:

Dr. Caitlin Bernard, MD, MS (she/hers): Dr. Bernard is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Indiana University School of Medicine whose research interests center around contraception, decreasing unintended pregnancy, and improving pregnancy outcomes. She has worked at Moi University in Kenya as part of a partnership between Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare and the Indiana University School of Medicine and participates in teaching and research programs related to these interests. Dr. Bernard also holds leadership roles at Planned Parenthood in Indiana and Kentucky.

Dr. Lisa Harris, MD, PhD (she/hers): Dr. Harris is the Associate Chair in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the F. Wallace and Janet Jeffries Collegiate Professor of Reproductive Health, and a Professor in the Department of Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan. Her research takes a holistic look at topics along the reproductive justice continuum, examining how the intersection of healthcare, law, ethics, history, and sociology affects clinical obstetrical and gynecological care. Dr. Harris has studied issues related to reproductive health such as abortion stigma, contraception, patient-centered miscarriage management, and racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in access to IVF. Dr. Harris has won numerous awards including the Association of Reproductive Health Professional’s Preserving Core Values in Science Award and the Society of Family Planning’s Outstanding Researcher Award.

Dr. Alison Norris, MD, PhD (she/hers): Dr. Norris is an associate professor at the Ohio State University with joint appointments in the Division of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health and the Division of Infectious Diseases in the College of Medicine. Her research focuses on preventing sexually transmitted infections and improving reproductive outcomes for people, with an emphasis on how context and epidemiological factors affect health outcomes and justice. She co-leads a collaborative research program called the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network (or OPEN) and has conducted longitudinal studies in Malawi to study family planning and STI treatment and testing with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr. Kelly Marie Ward, PhD (she/hers or they/them): Dr. Ward is an assistant professor in the Gender and Women’s Studies and Sociology Departments at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Their research is centered on the experiences of reproductive workers in abortion provision and the influences of sociological factors, cultural beliefs, institutional logics, and other narratives in shaping those experiences. Dr. Ward is also a doula with Harambee Village providing prenatal, birth, and postpartum support to families. Harambee Village’s mission is to dismantle disparities of race, class, gender, and sexuality that results in poor maternal/fetal health outcomes for black communities and communities of color. 

Please join us for this exciting conversation about how to promote reproductive justice in our communities - we look forward to welcoming you!