Dr. Kavanaugh is a Principal Research Scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, where she oversees the U.S. domestic research portfolio on contraceptive access. She earned DrPH and MPH degrees, with specializations in behavioral and community health, and a master’s certificate in women’s studies, all from the University of Pittsburgh; she also holds a BS in bioengineering from Cornell University. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of General Internal Medicine and affiliated with the Center for Innovative Research on Gender Health Equity (CONVERGE) at the University of Pittsburgh.
As a senior public health social scientist with more than 18 years of experience leading and conducting original research at the intersection of policy and reproductive health equity, Dr. Kavanaugh’s scholarship has been relied on by a variety of federal- and state-level agencies, including the Office of Population Affairs and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in their efforts to understand and improve contraceptive service delivery for a variety of patient populations. She recently led the seven-year Reproductive Health Impact Study, a large multistate research and policy initiative to understand the impact of policy changes on the publicly funded family planning network and on the patients served within this network. She has authored or co-authored more than 75 peer-reviewed and other scientific publications, and she regularly serves as a media contact to translate contraceptive access science for a broad audience.