SHARE Lab

Overview

The Sexual Health and Reproductive Experiences (SHARE) Lab is a collaborative, multidisciplinary research group directed by Dr. Madina Agénor, Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity at the Brown University School of Public Health.

The SHARE Lab investigates sexual and reproductive health inequities in relation to multiple, intersecting social positions and power relations – especially sexual orientation and heterosexism, gender and (cis)sexism, and race/ethnicity and racism – using an intersectional lens and a mixed-methods research approach.

SHARE Lab members conduct cutting-edge quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research to elucidate the structural and social determinants of sexual and reproductive health among marginalized populations at diverse intersections of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Using national probability sample surveys (i.e., National Survey of Family Growth, National Health Interview Survey), online surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups, SHARE Lab members examine how multilevel social and health care factors (e.g., access to health information, patient-provider communication, discrimination, clinical practice guidelines, health and social policies) shape inequities in cervical cancer screening, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and contraceptive care across and within sexual orientation, racial/ethnic, and gender groups in the U.S.

The SHARE Lab’s ultimate goal is to help inform the development and implementation of research-based policies, programs, and practices that promote access to high-quality sexual and reproductive health care among marginalized groups as well as equity in sexual and reproductive health outcomes.

People

SHARE Lab projects are led by Madina Agénor, ScD, MPH and conducted in collaboration with undergraduate and graduate research assistants and collaborators at Brown University and other universities across the U.S., including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, University of California at San Francisco, and Boston University School of Public Health.

Madina Agénor, ScD, MPH, Director

Madina Agénor, ScD, MPH (she/her) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity at Brown University School of Public Health. She is also Adjunct Faculty at The Fenway Institute and leads the Sexual Health and Reproductive Experiences (SHARE) Lab at Brown University. As a social epidemiologist, Dr. Agénor investigates the structural and social determinants of sexual and reproductive health and cancer screening and prevention among marginalized populations at diverse intersections of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity using an intersectional lens and a mixed-methods research approach. Dr. Agénor completed postdoctoral research training in cancer prevention equity at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and was Visiting Research Faculty at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University. Prior to joining the Brown University faculty, she was Gerald R. Gill Assistant Professor of Race, Culture, and Society at Tufts University and Assistant Professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She holds a Doctor of Science (ScD) in Social and Behavioral Sciences with a concentration in Women, Gender, and Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Sociomedical Sciences with a concentration in Social Science Research in Public Health from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and a bachelor’s degree (AB) in Community Health and Gender Studies from Brown University.

Tyler Alexander, Research Assistant

Tyler Alexander is a Master of Public Health student and Health Equity Scholar at Brown University School of Public Health. She is concentrating in interdisciplinary studies, with a focus on epidemiology and health services research. Tyler completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana. Her research interests include women’s health, sexual and reproductive health, health equity, and gender and sexual minority health. In the SHARE Lab, Tyler is conducting quantitative analyses pertaining to Black LGBTQ+ people’s sexual and reproductive health care experiences, including as part of her MPH thesis.

Kelly Reyna, MPH, Research Assistant

Kelly Reyna, MPH (she/her) is a health equity advocate based in Washington, DC. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Global Health with a concentration in Community Health Development from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Human Health and Sociology from Emory University. She is primarily interested in sexual health, reducing health disparities and advancing healthcare access among LGBTQI+/queer communities of color. In the SHARE Lab, Kelly is a research assistant for a qualitative research study that explores the role of intersectional stigma in shaping the sexual and reproductive health care experiences of Black and Latina cisgender and transgender women who use drugs.

Reagan Dunham, Community Engagement Specialist and Research Assistant

Reagan Dunham (she/her) is a harm reduction advocate currently based on Nacotchtank and Piscataway Land (Washington, DC). Her professional work focuses on implementing Black-led health equity and HIV prevention programs, advocating for harm reduction-informed local policy, and providing community services at a local hospice for unhoused people living with HIV. Outside of work, Reagan organizes with the #DecrimPovertyDC campaign, which seeks to decriminalize substance use and launch a 24-hour overdose prevention center in DC. Reagan looks forward to building anti-carceral solutions to health crises that interrupt the criminalization of patients and honor the humanity of each member of our communities. In the SHARE Lab, she is the Community Engagement Specialist and a research assistant for a qualitative research study that explores sexual and reproductive health care access and utilization among Black and Latina women who use drugs.

Tori Davis, Graduate Research Assistant

Tori Davis, BA (she/her) is a MPH student at Brown University School of Public Health.
She received her undergraduate degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Westmont College. She is interested in examining the impact of anti-Black racism on health outcomes among Black communities. In the SHARE lab, she serves as a research assistant for a qualitative research study that explores how multiple forms of discrimination impact access to and utilization of sexual and reproductive health care among Black and Latina women who use drugs.

Aisha Tipnis, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Aisha Tipnis is an undergraduate student at Brown University studying Science, Technology, and Society. Aisha is passionate about remedying structural inequities in healthcare, especially those embedded within reproductive and sexual healthcare fields. In the SHARE lab, Aisha works as a research assistant on a project investigating the role that multilevel gendered racism plays in shaping access to reproductive healthcare for Black and Latina women who use drugs.

Neil Mehta, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Neil Mehta (he/him) is an undergraduate student in his sophomore year at Brown University studying Public Health. He is primarily interested in disparities in healthcare access among gender and sexual minorities, health communication, and adolescent health. In the SHARE Lab, Neil is assisting with literature reviews related to structural discrimination and health equity and quantitative analyses focusing on LGBTQ+ health.

Madeline Montgomery, Graduate Research Assistant

Madeline Montgomery, MPH (she/her) is a PhD candidate in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences Brown University School of Public Health. She is interested in healthcare access and health communication among LGBTQ+ populations from a minority strengths perspective. Madeline’s dissertation research uses asynchronous online focus groups to characterize health information networks around cervical cancer prevention among LGBTQ+ persons. In the SHARE Lab, Madeline works as a graduate research assistant for a study evaluating the impact of state minimum wage laws on HIV incidence and prevention among U.S. women and men in relation to race/ethnicity. Madeline holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) with a focus on gender and health from Brown University School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Anthropology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Maddy Noh, Graduate Research Assistant

Madeline “Maddy” Noh (she/her) is graduating in Brown University’s Class of 2022 with a double major in Public Health and Anthropology. She is also pursuing her MPH degree at Brown before attending law school with the goal of advocating for equitable health services access among systematically underserved populations. She is primarily interested in sexual/reproductive health, substance use care, and criminal justice (and their intersections). Her prior experiences in research and service have shaped her commitment toward approaches that are community-engaged and culturally congruent. In the SHARE Lab, Maddy is working on analyzing qualitative data related to how health care providers conceptualize and address social determinants of health in the context of cervical cancer screening among patients with marginalized racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, and gender identities.

Thesis Students

The following undergraduate and graduate students are conducting independent thesis research in conjunction with the SHARE Lab:

Nancy Nkoudou, Brown University, MPH thesis

Katie Nash, Brown University, MPH thesis

Kelsey Zionskowski, Brown University, MPH thesis

Maddy Noh, Brown University, MPH thesis

Simran Singh, Brown University, Undergraduate thesis

Sydney Fisher, Brown University, Undergraduate thesis

Lab Alumni

Tara Ahmadi, MD, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, Tufts University School of Medicine

Allison Yorke Rhodes, MD, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, Tufts University School of Medicine

Emily Unger, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, Harvard Medical School

Merrily LeBlanc, BA, Graduate Research Assistant, Northeastern University

Ashley Pérez, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, University of California, San Francisco

Rosie Eiduson, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, Larner College of Medicine at University of Vermont

Simran Singh, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Brown University

Neha Narayan, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Brown University

Chinelo Njubigbo, BA, Graduate Research Assistant, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Courtney Brown, BA, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Brown University

Cynthia Smith, MS, Research Coordinator, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Dougie Zubizaretta, BA, Graduate Research Assistant, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Amanda Wilhoit, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Florence Almeda, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Raquel Jones, BA, Research Assistant, UMass Boston

Sophia Geffen, MPH, Qualitative Research Coordinator, Johns Hopkins University

Elissa Perez, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Leanne Loo, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Natasha Ramanayake, MS, PhD, Graduate Research Assistant, Suffolk University

Gabe Murchison, PhD, MPH, Graduate Research Assistant, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Allison McGuirk, BA, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Jesse Najarro, BA, Undergraduate Research Assistant, Tufts University

Research Opportunities

Research opportunities are available in the SHARE Lab for undergraduate, MPH, MD, and doctoral students at Brown University and other colleges and universities.

Research opportunities may include conducting literature reviews, developing research instruments (e.g., surveys, interview guides), recruiting and enrolling study participants, collecting qualitative or quantitative data, qualitative or quantitative data analysis, writing sections of manuscripts, assisting with manuscript and presentation preparation, and/or leading manuscripts, abstracts, and presentations, as appropriate based on project needs and level of research experience.

Open positions will be posted here as they become available. To apply for an existing position in the SHARE Lab, please apply directly in Work Day or Student Employment at Brown and complete this Google Form.

For more information, please contact Dr. Madina Agénor at madina_agenor@brown.edu.