News and Blogs

Our Big Data for Reproductive Health Bass Connections team worked on three teams throughout the year and presented their work at the Bass Connections Showcase. Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) Techniques to examine Stigma with Cervical Cancer in Kenya Members: Foxx Hart, Lynne Wang, Alexandra Lawerence, and Neha Shrishail For our project, we utilized topic modeling to identify recurring themes and sentiments in HIV interview data with Kenyan women, as well as develop an understanding of stigma frameworks. This year we were able to learn new technical and project management skills while diving deeper into the emerging interdisciplinary space between quantitative machine learning and qualitative social science research. Due to the many nuances and complexities involved with categorizing stigma, we have concluded that rudimentary NLP is not sufficient for identifying the various forms of stigma in qualitative data. However, we believe that this was a great introduction to applying these methods to an important area in global reproductive health. We hope more research...

May is a time of growth and excitement, from magnolia blooms and longer, warmer days to the celebrations popping up around campus. Along with the inherent optimism of spring on Duke’s campus, it feels that we are starting to sense what life in a more stable peri-Covid world will look like. For many, getting together in person to celebrate events and achievements, or even just to brainstorm in the same room, is a salve after these past two years. Graduation and summer opportunities provide a blank canvas for new experiences and adventures for students. This year’s graduating class spent much of their time at Duke in conditions altered by the pandemic, and yet most of the ones that I have worked with have not let that hinder their ambition or achievements. Their resilience, flexibility and grace will serve them well. In fact, the confluence of the pandemic and the national reckoning with race and racism that has so profoundly impacted...

Today, March 8, marks International Women’s Day which is also the fourth anniversary of the Center for Global Reproductive Health at Duke.  This year’s theme for IWD is #BreaktheBias, challenging people to celebrate women’s achievement, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. The United Nations is convening a series of events to highlight the link between gender, social equity and climate change, and call for more women’s voices to call for gender transformative solutions to the climate crisis.  The UN published a series of articles and resources about this year’s theme, and ways in which people everywhere can get involved and have their voices heard. The Economist has compiled a series of articles on women around the world, Twitter is alight with stories about how organizations are working toward equity and celebrated women, and Duke highlighted the work of leading women around campus. Happy International Women’s Day—add your own voice to this important day!...

The new year often inspires us to reflect on our goals and priorities, an endeavor supported by a series of opportunities to recognize, learn about and celebrate different events and people. January was Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, February is Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month, including International Women’s Day on March 8. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #BreaktheBias, offering to challenge various the biases people face around the world, including gender and race. The subjects explored over these months are all central to the work of the Center, and among other things, illustrate the impact of marginalization and discrimination on health outcomes. The intersection of race, gender and reproductive health is perhaps best shown by the experience of Henrietta Lacks, the Black woman whose cervical cancer cells gave rise to the immortal “HeLa” cell line. HeLa cells have played an extraordinary role in scientific research, underlying multiple Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and enabling medical advances for...