Allison is deeply interested in understanding the complexity of public health issues and finding evidence-based solutions to address them.

Allison Baumgartner is pursuing an MPH at UM-Ann Arbor, focused on global epidemiology and specifically evaluating global maternal and child health interventions. Currently, in collaboration with UChicago Research Bangladesh, Allison is investigating the association between access and utilization of pregnancy care, modes of delivery, and early initiation of breastfeeding on birthing outcomes among women in Araihazar, Bangladesh. An urgent need exists to comprehensively understand the systematic factors obstructing antenatal care utilization, the increasing trend for cesarean delivery over vaginal delivery, and the effects of non-exclusive breastfeeding (NEBF) on Araihazar maternal and child health through a community-engagement approach. These findings will provide grounds for further research that supports women, mothers, and children across the Araihazar community, advancing equitable care and family-centered education.

Allison is deeply interested in understanding the complexity of public health issues and finding evidence-based solutions to address them. She sees epidemiology as a crucial discipline that equips individuals with the skills to initiate constructive dialogue about health issues, work collaboratively with community partners, and lead the development of comprehensive solutions.

Allison serves as a research assistant in several intervention evaluation projects at the School of Public Health—investigating childhood vaccination in Aceh, Indonesia, and HIV counseling procedures for counselors of pregnant mothers across South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe —and she is an active Public Health Action Support Team (PHAST) member. Most recently, PHAST partnered with the Grenada Ministry of Social & Community Development, Housing, and Gender Affairs to listen and learn from local facility and family caregivers and enact recommendations for a national care plan for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Allison further serves as president of the U-M School of Public Health Student Assembly and engages students in collaborations across organizations, departments, and disciplines.

CEW+ commends Allison’s vision for her work in public health and names her a Menakka and Essel Bailey Graduate Fellow.