April Bell, PhD, MPH

Dr. Bell is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Preterm Birth Initiative at the University of California San Francisco.

She obtained her PhD in Epidemiology from the Indiana University School of Public Health at Bloomington. She received her MPH with a dual concentration in Epidemiology and Social & Behavioral Sciences from the Indiana University School of Medicine and her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University. Dr. Bell's research is focused on decreasing reproductive health inequities among women and youth by addressing the impacts of societal and structural biases on adverse birth outcomes, sexually transmitted infections, HIV acquisition, abortion access, and unintended pregnancy. Having worked extensively in both the US and across sub-Saharan Africa, she is interested in using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including digital storytelling, to bridge the expanse between US and African settings.

She has conducted research and evaluated programs in domestic and international settings during her 10 years at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 5 years at AMPATH, one of the largest and most successful HIV treatment programs in sub-Saharan Africa; and 18 months in Ghana as a Fogarty Research Fellow conducting maternal/child health and reproductive/sexual health research under the auspices of the University of Michigan. Since 2016, she has focused her work in the United States. She is a Society for Family Planning Emerging Leader and was awarded a research grant to fund her pilot project aimed at assessing the impact of digital storytelling on abortion stigma.

Dr. Bell is Certified in Public Health and a Certified Clinical Research Professional. She is also a Governing Councilor for the Sexual and Reproductive Health Section of the American Public Health Association. Other professional affiliations include the Society of Family Planning, Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health, and Society for Epidemiologic Research.