Historian | Policy Researcher | Program Strategist

I am a scholar of global health and development, whose research explores how the history of gender and medicine shape contemporary debates over medical ethics, health governance, and social justice. I am an incoming Assistant Professor at the University of Georgia, with a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Institute for Women’s and Gender Studies.

My work bridges academic research, policy analysis, and program leadership.

I am currently writing a book on the history of global reproductive governance, with a focus on Pakistan and Bangladesh. Related areas of scholarly inquiry include Islamic reproductive ethics; the political economy of biomedical and social scientific research and policymaking; the governance of traditional and faith-based medicine and health systems; and the global geopolitics of expertise and authority.

Alongside my scholarly research, I have led applied research and policy initiatives focusing on health, gender, and development. I previously served as Program Director of the Faith and Global Health Initiative at Georgetown University, overseeing the research program of a global, multidisciplinary Lancet commission. As a former Brookings expert, I led a visiting fellowship program and policy research portfolio focused on gender and global development.

My research has been recognized with the Pirzada Prize in Pakistan Studies by the University of California, Berkeley, and my writing has appeared in Diplomatic History, The Washington Post, The Lancet, and Brookings. I have also held a postdoctoral appointment at the Jackson School of Global Affairs, Yale University.

I regularly speak, teach, and consult on issues related to gender and reproductive justice, global governance, and the politics of health and development.

I completed my PhD in History from Princeton University.