Faculty in the News

There are many good health, caregiving, and economic security reasons to endorse the current proposal for paid family leave insurance in Louisiana–Senate Bill 186–as it could greatly benefit women, men, children, families and employers. One important reason is to promote maternal health. About 80% of American women have at least one child, and after giving birth, it is clear that mothers need time for physical recovery, bonding with newborns and emotional health. Since most mothers are employed, it is important for maternity leave to exist — and be paid.

Dr. Sarah Gray, an assistant professor of psychology at Tulane University, is one of five recipients of a prestigious Early Career Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). Dr. Gray studies mental health and physiological consequences of exposure to early life stress and trauma, especially in underserved children and their caregivers.

Dr. Aubrey Madkour gives an overview of her research career examining predictors and consequences of early sexual initiation among adolescents; determinants of longitudinal trajectories of dating violence between adolescence and early adulthood; adolescents’ perceptions of dating violence definitions and etiology; and most recently, causes of substance use behaviors in early adulthood.

Dr. Gretchen Clum reflects on her history as a public health researcher from studying the effect of sex abuse on HIV treatment adherence to mindfulness training and analyzing the data from Tulane's sexual misconduct climate survey. Her current projects include looking at the impact of police raids on the health and wellbeing of female sex workers and teaching the “Public Health Approaches to Sexual Violence” undergraduate course.

The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world, and Louisiana consistently ranks among the top states for rates of death among pregnant and postpartum women. Dr. Maeve Wallace studies pregnancy-associated mortality and the state-level policies that could be contributing to the higher rates seen in Louisiana and the U.S. more broadly. Wallace and her team will also look at how factors including income inequality, structural racism and residential segregation play a role in the increased mortality rate among black women, who are currently three to four times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy or post-partum periods.