Elizabeth O’Brien

Elizabeth O’Brien is Assistant Professor of History of Medicine and Latin American History at UCLA. Her research examines reproductive politics, surgical epistemologies, and medical racism in Mexico from colonial era to 1940.

Her award-winning book Surgery and Salvation (2023) received five prizes including the William H. Welch Medal. It analyzes how theological ideas shaped obstetric surgery and racialized reproductive governance. O'Brien co-edits the 'Bodies and Ecologies' series and serves on Journal of Women's History editorial board.

Current projects investigate anencephalic births on US-Mexico border and 1930s abortion access. Her NSF-funded work reconstructs histories of eugenics, obstetric violence, and patient agency through hospital archives and legal cases.

• William H. Welch Medal (2025)
• LASA Best Book Award (2024)
• Fulbright-García Robles Fellowship
• NEH Scholarly Translations Grant
• ACLS Fellowship

O'Brien co-chairs UCLA's Medical Humanities working group and collaborates with reproductive justice organizations.