Dr. Kait Stanhope

Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology

October 29, 2026

What initially drew you to public health and, specifically, maternal and child health?

I’ve always been really passionate about how we can understand and address social and economic inequality. I find the idea that some families have fewer opportunities starting prior to birth infuriating – this has really motivated me throughout my career, beginning during my undergraduate studies. I had the opportunity to study abroad in Ecuador and Chile, then to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru. Together spending time in other places with very obvious inequality motivated me to understand and address inequalities that are sometimes less obvious in my home town of Atlanta.

You earned both your MPH in Global Health and your PhD at Emory. Can you talk about your experience as a student at Emory and how it shaped your career and current research in maternal health?

I spent several years out of school before returning to my MPH, which really motivated me to take full advantage of the opportunities in terms of coursework, volunteer opportunities, and research projects as an MPH student. I was a volunteer with Health Organization for Latin America and was able to volunteer regularly at Latin America Association and Lifting Latina Voices Initiative. This was fantastic as it helped me get off campus and keep my purpose from and center. I also worked as a graduate research assistant for Dr. Juan Leon on a cohort study of maternal-infant dyads in Bolivia. This project introduced me to the research process and gave me the opportunity to meet and work closely with people across career stages (PhD, postdoctoral fellow, physician-scientist). Working in Dr. Leon’s lab also made me approach the management aspects of a research lab.

As a PhD student, I really appreciated the opportunity to choose my own adventure and focus on immigrant policy, an issue about which I am passionate. My mentors, Carol Hogue and Michael Kramer, supported me in traveling around the country to attend workshops and meet other scholars in this space, as there was limited scholarship in this area at Emory at the time. This was a fantastic opportunity to conduct research and also develop as a professional.

Can you talk a little bit about your research on stress, adversity, and women’s health during and after pregnancy, and some of the specific areas you’ve focused on?

My work primarily focuses on how structural stressors – historic and contemporary policies and practices – structure exposure to adversities and opportunities up to pregnancy and throughout the perinatal period, disproportionately impacting certain groups. I’ve primarily focused on how these are embodied in women’s cardiometabolic and mental health across pregnancy, resulting in suboptimal maternal infant outcomes. I have also increasingly worked as part of interdisciplinary teams to develop and test interventions to support patients and communities disproportionately impacted by structural stressors. I have studied many structural stressors including wealth, racial-income polarization, immigration policies, and housing.

What do you see as the most important next steps in improving maternal health outcomes and addressing maternal health disparities in the U.S.?

I think we need to adopt a health in all policies approach, expand the social safety net, and enrich our health system to provide quality, continuous preventive care across the life course. Increasing access to housing, education, quality employment, and opportunity will give individuals access to opportunities that allow them to experience optimal health, resulting in fewer individuals at high risk at conception. Improved access to continuous health care will result in better management of chronic and high-risk conditions across the perinatal periods and fewer patients that fall through the cracks.

What have you learned from your students, either in the classroom or through research mentorship?

I am really inspired by students who show deep curious and interest – and constantly learn from the articles and talks they attend and share. I also really appreciate when students share their own lived experience which helps me understand the breadth of where students come from to arrive at our program. I am constantly learning new ideas and questions when discussing data and research with students.

What advice would you give to students and early-career professionals interested in maternal health research or addressing maternal health disparities?

Identifying collaborators, thinking buddies, and other people excited about the work is so helpful for sustaining your purpose and maintaining your energy. Good work is never done alone. It is always the right time to try and find your people and ways to think together, talk together, and develop projects together. My favorite projects are ones in which I get to work with others passionate about maternal health.