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Alison
Gemmill
,
PhD

Assistant Professor

Alison Gemmill, PhD, MPH, MA, studies the demography of fertility and reproductive outcomes, environmental and macrosocial stressors and perinatal health; maternal mortality.

Contact Info

615 N. Wolfe Street, Room E4148
Baltimore
Maryland
21205
US        

Research Interests

fertility and family planning; maternal, perinatal, and reproductive health; women's health; life course and aging; demography
Experiences & Accomplishments
Education
PhD
University of California, Berkeley
2017
MA
University of California, Berkeley
2012
MPH
University of California, Berkeley
2011
BA
University of California, Los Angeles
2004
Overview
Alison Gemmill is a demographer and epidemiologist with expertise in maternal, perinatal, and reproductive health and fertility. Her current research involves four overlapping arms: the demography of fertility and reproductive outcomes; environmental and macrosocial stressors and perinatal health; stress and health throughout the lifespan; and estimating maternal mortality and maternal cause of death.

Her previous and current work on U.S. fertility examines fertility intention dynamics, state-level variation in fertility responses to the Great Recession, and explanations for the unprecedented, recent decline in non-marital fertility. Her other recent research studies how women’s risk preferences and perceptions impact contraceptive use behavior, the relationship between macrosocial stressors and perinatal health, and global and regional patterns of maternal health indicators. She is a former NICHD and NIA predoctoral fellow in demography and has published lead-authored and collaborative work in journals such as Demography, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Lancet, Lancet Global Health, Population and Development Review, and JAMA Network Open.
Select Publications
Selected publications:
  • Gemmill A, Catalano R, Casey JA, Karasek D, Alcalá H, Elser H, Torres JM. (2019). Association of preterm births among US Latina women with the 2016 presidential election. JAMA Network Open; 2(7): e197084.
  • Gemmill A, Kiang MV, Alexander MJ. (2019). Trends in pregnancy-associated mortality involving opioids in the United States, 2007-2016. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology; 220(1):115-116.
  • Gemmill A. (2019). From some to none? Fertility expectation dynamics of permanently childless women. Demography; 56(1):129-149.
  • Gemmill A. (2018). Perceived subfecundity and contraceptive use among young adult U.S. women. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health; 50(3):119-127.
  • Gemmill A, Bradley SEK, van der Poel S. (2018). Reduced fecundity in HIV-positive women. Human Reproduction; 33(6):1158-1166.