Karen Andes

Karen Andes is an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences in Brown University's School of Public Health, serving as Director of the Master of Public Health Program. A broadly trained social scientist with three decades of experience in public health research, training, and practice, she earned her BA from Arizona State University in 1987, followed by an MA and PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University, with her doctorate completed in 1994. Prior to her appointment at Brown in 2022, Andes held faculty positions at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health for nearly two decades. She began as Assistant Professor in 2003 in the Hubert Department of Global Health and the Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences, advancing to Associate Professor by 2019.

Andes' research interests include global health, HIV, sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health, health disparities and health equity, LGBTQ health, and sexual and reproductive health. Her work emphasizes adolescent sexual and reproductive health, positive youth development, health disparities in African-American and Latinx communities, and the social determinants of health. She has conducted public health research and service projects in Paraguay since 2005. As a qualitative methodologist, she has offered analysis expertise to teams addressing pediatric oncology, emergency preparedness, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, HIV/AIDS, and menstrual hygiene management, among others. Andes is a certified trainer for MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software and the author of a three-course specialization on qualitative research methods for public health available on the Coursera platform. Her contributions have been honored with the 2018-2019 Governor's Teaching Fellows Program award at Emory University and selection as one of the first recipients of the Fulbright Flex Award for work addressing adolescent pregnancy in Paraguay's urban slums.

Professional Email: karen_andes@brown.edu