Maren Webster – Global Reproductive Health at Duke

Meet Divya Subramanian, 2026 SRT Program

April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Divya Subramanian is a sophomore in Program II, studying Global Health Policy and Reproductive Health. Divya will be travelling to Kisumu with the 2026 SRT cohort in a few weeks! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I am most excited to work with the research assistants and community health promoters who are working with mSaada in Kisumu. I am eager to learn how Kenya’s health system navigates reproductive health stigma at the clinic level, and how much this context shapes how effective mobile health tools like mSaada are. I look forward to hearing directly from patients and providers about their experiences with mSaada, as it will inspire our sustainability and implementation work. Beyond research, I am looking to build relationships with the Kisumu team and learn firsthand what global health research looks like! Q: What sparked your interest in global health? A: I became interested in global health after learning about my grandmother’s experiences with...

Meet Navya Kancharla, 2026 SRT Program

April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

My name is Navya Kancharla, and I am currently a junior at Duke, majoring in Biology and minoring in Global Health and Chemistry on the pre-medicine track. During my time in Kenya, I am most excited to engage directly with women from diverse backgrounds and hear firsthand stories that will deepen my understanding of women’s health and the systemic barriers that shape access to health care. My interest in global health developed long before I knew a field existed that matched my interests. During one summer in Berkeley, California, I volunteered at a women’s homeless shelter where I worked alongside an incredible team to provide free meals, clothing, hygiene, contraceptives, and mental health support to local unhoused women and their families. It was the conversations with these women that stayed with me. I began to see health not as an absence of illness, but as a state of true well-being. For the first time, I felt like my initiative could truly...

Meet Isabella Banan, 2026 SRT Program

April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Isabella Banan is a sophomore double majoring in Global Health and Biology with a concentration in Pharmacology. Isabella is headed to Kenya with the 2026 SRT cohort in a few weeks! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I am most excited to meet the team in Kisumu and learn from the people directly involved in the project. After spending the past semester learning about and discussing this work, I am really looking forward to seeing it in practice and better understanding how it all comes together. Q: What sparked your interest in global health? A: I first became interested in global health during the fall semester of my freshman year when I took my first global health class at Duke. That course introduced me to the field, but more importantly, it challenged me to think about health as something shaped not only by biology and medicine, but also by broader social, economic, and structural forces....

Meet Gayathri Vanka, 2026 SRT Program

April 15, 2026April 15, 2026 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Gayathri Vanka is a sophomore majoring in Biomedical Engineering with a certificate in Documentary Studies. Get to know this member of the 2026 SRT cohort headed to Kenya in a few short weeks! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I’m looking forward to learning about a completely new culture and working on an interdisciplinary team with people I look up to. Q: What sparked your interest in global health? A: Growing up between Texas and India, I saw early on that healthcare looks completely different depending on where you're born and where you live. I came to Duke to study BME specifically because I wanted tools to help close those gaps. Q: What are you involved in outside of your studies? Can you tell us more? A: I'm on a Bass Connections team collecting oral histories from reproductive care providers post-Roe, and I do more oral history work with the Museum of Durham History. Outside of that,...

Meet Sierra Remington, 2025 SRT Program

June 2, 2025June 12, 2025 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Sierra Remington is a rising junior majoring in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies in the Arabic concentration and minoring in Biology and Global Health. She and the rest of the SRT cohort are arriving in Kisumu this week! Keep reading to get to know Sierra! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I am most looking forward to seeing the process for the project we have been working on. Sometimes just talking about it and working behind the scenes makes it hard to picture the goal, and I think being there and being with the team will help with that. Q: What do you hope to do after graduation? A: I hope to become a military physician assistant and to continue to improve my Arabic skills by working with refugees. Q: What are you involved in outside of your studies? Can you tell us more? A: I am on the club volleyball team and on the executive board...

Meet Ella Bassett, 2025 SRT Program

May 22, 2025 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Ella Bassett is a rising junior majoring in Biology and Global Health. Keep reading to get to know this member of the wonderful 2025 SRT cohort headed to Kenya in June! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I am most excited to meet the team members coordinating the mSaada study in Kisumu. After engaging with the Elimisha study from my home at Duke, I’ve found that I have so much to learn about the local burden of disease and how the health system adapts to combat stigma and social determinants of cervical cancer. I can’t wait to meet the research assistants, study coordinators, data managers, and lab technicians who are on the ground preparing to launch the mSaada trial in 12 clinics across the county. Q: What sparked your interest in global health? A: I arrived at the discipline of global health through the reproductive justice movement. Access to comprehensive reproductive healthcare throughout the lifecourse is...

Meet Hope Tiwang, 2025 SRT Program

May 19, 2025 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Hope Tiwang is a rising junior at Duke University, studying Public Policy with a minor in Global Health. She is part of the Center's 2025 SRT cohort and will be heading to Kisumu, Kenya in June! Question: What about your upcoming trip to Kenya are you most looking forward to? Answer: I am most looking forward to meeting the Kenya Team and getting to know them. Q: What sparked your interest in global health? A: I have always been interested in Public Health, my interests have been in increasing health equity by providing health education services to underserved areas, particularly focusing on children. During my freshman fall I took global health 101 with Professor Ariely, and I learned that many countries experience health equity issues to varying degrees. The discussions with classmates and hearing from the various guest speakers helped spark my interest in global health. Q: What do you hope to do after graduation? A: I hope to take two Gap years and work...

Meet our Study Driver, Paul

May 1, 2025 by Maren WebsterNo Comments

Paul Otieno Ogutu is the study driver for the Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention (CCSP) Team. He is an integral part of the team, making sure that the CCSP team gets to study sites across the Nyanza Province of Kenya. From site visits in preparation for the launch of the new mSaada phase and setting up U54 health fairs in Siaya County, to enrolling clients in the Pocket colposcope project in Kisumu County, Paul is responsible for the transportation of the CCSP team. Keep reading to learn more about him! Question: What does your work position look like and what kind of things are you doing on a daily basis? Answer: I am the Study driver. My responsibilities include checking on the condition of the vehicle every morning, taking study staff to the study sites, and any other duty assigned by the study administrator. Q: Are there any hobbies or activities that you enjoy outside of work? A: Singing gospel songs, farming, and doing...

Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention Health Fairs in Siaya County

August 16, 2024December 10, 2024 by Maren Webster1 Comment

The Cervical Cancer Screening and Prevention (CCSP) Team hosted a series of health fairs in Gem of Siaya County, Kenya earlier this summer. The purpose of these fairs was to create opportunities for women living in Kenya to have access to human papillomavirus (HPV) screening and education, and to allow school-age girls to receive vaccinations against HPV. Cervical cancer poses a significant global health burden due to limited access to effective screening and prevention measures, especially for women living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Invasive cervical cancer affects more than 661,000 women around the world, resulting in more than 348,000 deaths each year.1 Though cervical cancer is very preventable through HPV vaccination and screening and treatment of cervical precursor lesions, cost and infrastructural barriers prevent many women in LMICs from accessing these essential cervical cancer prevention services.2 The health fairs hosted by the CCSP Team directly address the lack of access to cervical cancer prevention and screening measures that many Kenyan...