News and Events

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health 
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | February 4, 2026

Erica Sedlander, Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, will speak about leveraging fertility desires to encourage healthy behaviors, such as medication adherence, to ultimately help women reach their reproductive goals.

Speaker:
Erica Sedlander, DrPH, MPH 
Assistant Professor 
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences 
Institute for Health and Aging 
University of California, San Francisco

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | January 21, 2026

Xiaobin Wang, MD, ScD, Zanvyl Krieger Professor and Director of the Center on the Early Life Origins of Disease in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health (PFRH), convened a panel of PFRH PhD students, postdoctoral investigators, and faculty who present their ongoing research on critical maternal and child health topics, bridging life stages and multiple disciplines.

Speakers: 

Alysse Kowalski, PhD, MPH
Assistant Scientist

Nan Dou, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Xueqi Qu, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow

Xiaoyu Che, MBBS, MSPH
PhD Student

Nusrat Jabin, MS
PhD Student

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | December 10, 2025

Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate: Lessons and Limitations from Big Microdata

Brian Thiede, Associate Professor at Penn State University, will discuss his recent work on the demographic and health impacts of climatic and environmental change around the world. This seminar is co-sponsored by the Hopkins Population Center. 

Speaker:

Brian Thiede
Associate Professor of Rural Sociology, Sociology, and Demography
The Pennsylvania State University

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | November 12, 2025

Sophia Taula-Lieras (she/her), MSW, SPIRIT Project Director at the Center for Indigenous Health, shares about the work of Supporting Play and Intergenerational Relationships with Indigenous Traditions or SPIRIT, an Indigenous-led global collective that focuses on 0-to-6-year-olds, their intergenerational caregivers, and communities who ensure their healthy journeys. 

Speaker

Sophia Taula-Lieras, MSW
SPIRIT Project Director
Center for Indigenous Health

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | September 10, 2025

Stories from Our Faculty, Part 2

Speakers:

Tamar Mendelson, PhD, MA, Professor
Saifuddin Ahmed, PhD ’96, MBBS, Professor
Kristin Bevilacqua, PhD ’24, MPH, Assistant Scientist
Carolina Cardona, PhD ’22, MHS ’16, Assistant Scientist
Susan Gross, PhD '96, MPH, RDN, Associate Practice Professor
Dylan Jackson, PhD, MS, Associate Professor
Anne Lilly, MSPH ’13, Senior Research Associate
Farah Qureshi, ScD, MHS, Assistant Professor
Maria Trent, MD, MPH, Professor
Anaise Williams, PhD ’23, MPH, Assistant Scientist
Shannon Wood, PhD ‘20, MSc, Assistant Professor
Linnea Zimmerman, PhD ’14, MPH, Associate Professor

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | September 3, 2025
 

Stories from Our Faculty, Part 1

Speakers:

Phil Anglewicz, PhD, MA, Professor
Chrisy Bethell, PhD, MBA, MPH, Professor
Erin Hager, PhD ’08, Professor
Celia Karp, PhD ’20, Assistant Professor
Li Liu, MB, PhD ’08, MHS ’06, Associate Professor
Beth Marshall, DrPH ’11, MPH ’03, Associate Practice Professor
Kristin Mmari, DrPH, MA, Professor
Terri Powell, PhD, MA, Associate Professor
Sally Safi, PhD, MSPH, Assistant Scientist
Annie Smith, PhD, MPH, Assistant Scientist
Allison West, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | April 2, 2025

Attorney and author Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, executive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at NYU Law, speaks to her decade-long journey and experience as a champion for equitable menstrual and menopause public policy in the United States. She outlines the recent, rapid history of these movements and point to reforms that are possible in this next political era.

Speaker
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
Executive Director
Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center
NYU Law

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health 
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | February 19, 2025 

Kesha Baptiste-Roberts, Associate Professor and PI for the Morgan State University Center for Maternal and Family Health Research, will discuss the perspectives of patients and providers on the use of telehealth for obstetrics and gynecology services.

Speaker: 
Kesha Baptiste-Roberts, PhD, MPH 
Chair, Department of Public and Allied Health 
Associate Professor School of Community Health and Policy 
Morgan State University

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health 
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | February 2, 2025 

Staying the Course to Promote the Early and Lifelong Health of Children and Youth: Lessons from the New National Launching Lifelong Health Study and Engagement In Action Framework (EnAct!)

Christina Bethell, PhD, MBA, MPH, Professor and founding Director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative will review the new National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine Launching Lifelong Health study on transforming the children’s health care system to improve child and youth well-being.  Recommendations specific to advancing integrated statewide early childhood health promotion and preventive services using the Engagement In Action Framework (EnAct!) will be discussed.

Speaker: 
Christina Bethell, PhD, MBA, MPH
Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health 
PFRH Wednesday Seminar Series | January 22, 2025 

James Sadler, PhD, Director of Research at Baltimore’s Promise, discusses the work of the Baltimore City Youth Data Hub, an integrated data system between Baltimore’s Promise, City Schools, and the City of Baltimore that centers community involvement in governance and throughout the data lifecycle. 

Speaker: 
James Sadler, PhD 
Director of Research, Baltimore’s Promise