Sexual and Reproductive Health (Women, Children and Youth)
Research core
Center for Global Health
The Center for Global Health champions equitable sexual and reproductive health for women, children, and youth with a focus in improving access, empowerment, and opportunity for all to thrive.
Core leadership
Marie Harvey, DrPH, MPH
Dr. Harvey is a public health researcher with 35 years of experience conducting research focused on the behavioral, contextual, and policy aspects of unintended pregnancy, sexual behavior, and abortion among diverse populations of young adults.
Dr. Harvey’s research focuses on reducing disparities in risky sexual behavior and increasing access to health services. She has published widely in the areas of risk and prevention of unintended pregnancy and STIs among high-risk women, men, and couples, and the influence of relationship and contextual factors on protective behaviors and sexual risk-taking.
More recently, Dr. Harvey has extended her research focus to examine the impact of new health policies and health care reforms on women’s reproductive health, abortion, and contraceptive access.
Dr. Harvey is dedicated to using research findings to inform policies and practices that improve the health of women, men, and families.
Marit Bovbjerg, PhD
Dr. Bovbjerg’s research focuses on US maternity care, particularly midwifery and community birth for low-risk women. Dr. Bovbjerg is also interested in physical activity during pregnancy and postpartum, as well as potential effects on maternal outcomes.
Courtney Jost, PhD
Dr. Jost's research examines the intersection of public health and adapted physical activity to improve the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities.
Through her experience with the Botswana Global Health Initiative and the IMPACT program at Oregon State, she is dedicated to identifying and addressing barriers faced by individuals with disabilities within their communities.
She aims to develop culturally responsive, community-based programs that promote inclusivity and reduce disparities. Specifically, she is interested in exploring how cultural perceptions of disability influence these populations’ access to health and educational resources.
S. Marie Harvey Endowed Fellowship
The S. Marie Harvey Endowed Fellowship supports students and programs focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health within the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University.
The Fund is used to:
- Support graduate students within the public health programs in the College of Health to pursue research on the sexual and/or reproductive health of disadvantaged and underserved populations; and/or,
- Support the priority programmatic areas in the Center for Global Health that are focused on sexual and reproductive health.
Recipients
2025-2026
- Amamah Noor, PhD student in Health Policy
- Ben Roberts
- Steph Corey, PhD student in Health Promotion and Health Behavior
2024-2025
- Geethika Koneru
- Mikala Kowal
- Amamah Noor
- Ben Roberts
2023-2024
- Henry Okorie Ugorji
- Kylee Dryden
- Lilli Udarbe
- Lynda Chukwuemeka
- Maxwell Kumbeni
- Victoria Escobar
2022-2023
- Mandana Masoumirad
2021-2022
2019-2020
Abby Mulchy, PhD student in Health Policy
2018-2019
Ellie Smith, PhD student in Health Promotion and Health Behavior
Core news and stories
When Dr. Sunday Adetunji lost two siblings to sickle cell disease and a cousin during childbirth, he made a promise to reduce preventable deaths. Today, the OSU epidemiology PhD candidate combines clinical experience with data science to redesign global healthcare systems and protect vulnerable mothers and babies.
Doctoral student Phales Milimo presented her HIV prevention research and moderated a maternal health equity session at the 2025 APHA Annual Meeting.
Professor Sunil Khanna leads a workshop in Botswana on monitoring and evaluation for gender and youth equity, sponsored by Botswana's Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture.
