Mari Dumbaugh

Mari Dumbaugh is an Adjunct Instructor and Research Associate in the Division of Community Health Sciences at the School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), a position she has held since Fall 2018. She is also the founder and lead consultant at Insight Impact Consulting, providing global public health research, training, and analysis services to organizations such as the World Health Organization and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Education:

• PhD in Epidemiology, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute / University of Basel, Switzerland (2017)
• MSc in International Child Health, University College London, England (2012)
• BA in Critical Social Thought & French, Mount Holyoke College, MA, USA (2007)

Dr. Dumbaugh is a global health social scientist specializing in maternal, child, sexual, and reproductive health, with a strong emphasis on health behavior change in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in French-speaking Africa (DRC, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Rwanda). Her research integrates gender, reproductive justice, colonial legacies, and social determinants of health. She employs mixed-methods and ethnographic approaches, with significant fieldwork conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Her recent publications explore contraceptive side effects in fragile contexts and early childhood development practices in rural Burkina Faso. The articles reveal a consistent focus on understanding health behaviors within their socio-cultural and political contexts, using qualitative methods to give voice to local populations.

Scientific Awards:

Dr. Dumbaugh has collaborated with international experts and organizations on various research projects. Her work at UIC and through her consultancy allows her to generate evidence for health program policy and planning. She is now applying her global perspectives to health challenges in the United States, particularly around health equity and reproductive justice.

Labs and Teams:

She has been involved in research teams at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and has led field research in collaboration with local teams in Burundi and the DRC. Her current academic affiliation is with the Division of Community Health Sciences at UIC.