Dana M. Johnson

Dana M. Johnson, PhD, serves as a Health Disparities Research Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. She maintains key affiliations with The Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) and Reproductive Equity Action Lab (REAL), while co-chairing Jane’s Due Process and serving on The Feminist Demography Collective steering committee.

Her educational journey includes:

• BA in Sociology and Social Justice (University of Minnesota)
• Master’s in Public Affairs (Lyndon B. Johnson School, UT Austin)
• PhD in Public Policy and Demography (UT Austin)

Dr. Johnson’s research critically examines reproductive health equity through analysis of abortion policy, contraceptive access, adolescent health outcomes, and technology’s role in healthcare delivery. Her work uniquely bridges demographic research with policy advocacy, addressing systemic health disparities through both academic scholarship and community engagement. This dual approach has generated significant real-world impact beyond traditional academic channels.

Her scholarly contributions appear in elite journals including Nature Medicine and JAMA Network Open, while her public commentary reaches broader audiences through The New York Times and Teen Vogue. Notably, her research has been formally cited in U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Briefs for landmark reproductive rights cases.

As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Johnson focuses on independent scholarship within UW-Madison’s Health Disparities Research Scholars Program. Her current work leverages institutional support from CORE and REAL to advance reproductive equity through evidence-based policy analysis and community-centered research initiatives.