History

Emory has an extensive history of funded research and academic scholarship that addresses the intersection of religion and reproductive health issues. Much of the work in the area of Religion and Reproductive Health at Emory has been conducted by Carol Hogue, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology, and the Jules and Uldeen Terry Professor of Maternal and Child Health at the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Hogue has spent over 30 years conducting research on unintended pregnancy and its sequelae, as well as understanding the causes and consequences of racial/ethnic disparities in reproductive and adult health, including pioneering studies into the excess risk of low birth weight among university-educated African-American women. Dr. Hogue is currently the Co-Chair of the Religion and Public Health Collaborative (RPHC) at Emory.

Postdoctoral Fellows

In an effort to increase the scholarship in Religion and Reproductive Health at Emory, Dr. Hogue (with additional funding from sources such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and the University Strategic initiatives) has sponsored three postdoctoral fellows at Emory between 2001 and the present. Anne Lifflander, MD, MPH, served as the first postdoctoral fellow. She is a medical/social researcher whose work focuses on maternal and child health. Laurie Gaydos, PhD, the second fellow, is a policy researcher with an expertise in reproductive health who conducted research on issues of contraceptive usage and access related to religion. The current RRH postdoctoral fellow, Iman Roushdy Hammady, PhD, came to RRH with an extensive background in medical anthropology and Middle Eastern studies from Harvard University. Her work focuses on endemic cancer in Turkey and Europe and on women's health. She serves as the lead qualitative researcher for ethnographic research exploring how women's health decision-making is influenced by religious and faith beliefs.