Ugo Edu

Ugo Edu is Assistant Professor of African American Studies and Medical Anthropology at UCLA, where she leads the Black ASH Lab. Her research integrates medical anthropology, public health, black feminism, and science and technology studies (STS), focusing on reproductive/sexual health, race, aesthetics, and body modifications.

Education includes PhD in Medical Anthropology from UCSF/UC Berkeley (2015), MPH in International Health from Morehouse School of Medicine (2007), and BS in Physiological Sciences from UCLA (2003). Her book project 'The Family Planned' examines racial aesthetics, sterilization, and reproductive practices in Brazil.

Research explores how race and aesthetics influence reproductive healthcare decisions, particularly sterilization practices among Black women in Brazil. Her forthcoming bilingual play 'Em Busca da Ligadura/Securing Ties' engages these themes through artistic expression.

Recent publications analyze racialized medical knowledge production, reproductive justice, and healthcare hierarchies in transnational contexts.