Isabel Morgan, MSPH
Program Initiated: 2018
Primary Advisor: Christine Tucker, PhD
Minor: Epidemiology
Research Interests: Postpartum care, health equity, birth work, substance use during pregnancy, reproductive health
Dissertation Research: Examine factors associated with postpartum care utilization among women with pregnancy-related complications and assess predictors in Black women’s satisfaction with postpartum care services
Honors/Awards: Outstanding Fellow Award, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018); MCH Traineeship, Health Resources and Services Administration (2014-2016; 2018-2019); NICHD Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric T32 Traineeship (2019-2020)
Bio: Isabel holds a BA in Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College and a MSPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prior to beginning her doctoral studies, she spent two years in the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a Reproductive Epidemiology Fellow, Isabel evaluated evidence for the U.S. Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, conducting a systematic review on the safety of hormonal contraception for women with diabetes. There she also led analyses on health care provider perceptions of the safety of contraception for adolescents. She served on the National Preconception Health and Health Care Initiative’s Surveillance and Research work group, where she produced national estimates of preconception health indicators using Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data and was involved in identifying priority preconception care indicators. Isabel also coordinated a meeting of representatives from 15 states to identify strategies aimed at increasing access to contraception during the Zika Emergency Response. Related to this work, she engaged in a qualitative analysis on state efforts to implement policies on immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception.
Isabel has presented research at the American Public Health Association, Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research, and American College of Epidemiolgy annual meetings. She currently co-leads the Research Working Group with Black Mamas Matter Alliance, a cross-sectoral alliance dedicated to advancing Black maternal health, research and justice.
Isabel is a free-spirit who enjoys playing volleyball, reading, listening to live music and taking solo trips to the Caribbean.