Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Marlene "Joannie" Bewa, PhD, MD is a physician and scientist with expertise in reproductive, maternal health, contraception, digital health, m-health, telehealth in the U.S, Africa and Asia.
Research Interests
Digital Health, Sexual, Reproductive, and Maternal Health, Family Planning, Adolescent Health, Social Marketing, Telehealth, Telemedicine, M-health, Africa, Benin, Francophone Africa, Health Communication, low and middle-income countries, implementation science, Health Advocacy
Experiences & Accomplishments
Joannie Marlene Bewa, PhD, MD, MPH is a family medicine physician and scientist with expertise in sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and digital health. Her research interests include developing evidence, designing and deploying novel digital health, m-health, and telehealth platforms, measuring reproductive, maternal, adolescent, and child health interventions and multilevel determinants of family planning in adolescents and young women in the United States, Africa including francophone Africa and Asia. She led health evaluation and meta-evaluation, applying community-based prevention marketing (CBPM) and social marketing to behavior change research and programs. As a principal investigator on numerous grant-funded research, she led research on the feasibility and acceptability of telemedicine for primary care and reproductive health, leading to the deployment of Dotoh App, an award-winning telemedicine platform in Benin Republic and Africa. In addition, she led health equity in family planning research with the support of the American Society of Family Planning. She contributed to COVID-19 health disparities research funded under a 40 million U.S Dollars grant from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of minority health, and U.S CDC-funded community-based prevention marketing (CBPM) and social marketing research.
Honors & Awards
2024 Marc Mitchell Award for Global Digital Health Innovation
2022 Grand Challenges Canada Stars in Global Health Innovation Award
2022 Delta Omega, Tau Chapter
2021 Faculty of the Future Award, Schlumberger Foundation 2021 Society of Family Planning Emerging Scholar Award
2020 Outstanding Young Alumni Award, University of South Florida
2018 Doctoral Fellowship Award, University of South Florida
2019 Honorary Award for Research & Practice, University of South Florida
2018 Golden Bull Award, University of South Florida
2018 Best Poster Award, University of South Florida Health Research Day
2016 Delta Kappa Gamma Fellowship for Women’s Educators
2016 Fulbright Scholarship, US Department of State 2006 Benin Government Excellence Scholarship for Medical Studies