Madina Agénor

Madina Agénor, ScD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Epidemiology in Health Science at the Brown University School of Public Health, with affiliated faculty status in the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. She earned her Doctor of Science in Social and Behavioral Sciences with a concentration in Women, Gender, and Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2013, her Master of Public Health in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in 2008, and her AB in Community Health and Gender Studies from Brown University in 2005. Before joining Brown, Agénor held faculty appointments at Harvard University, Tufts University as the inaugural Gerald R. Gill Assistant Professor of Race, Culture, and Society in the Department of Community Health, and Wellesley College. She also completed postdoctoral research training in cancer prevention equity at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Agénor's interdisciplinary research utilizes intersectional, mixed-methods, and community-partnered approaches to investigate how structural and social factors—such as laws, policies, institutional practices, and interpersonal interactions—shape health and health care experiences for socially marginalized groups. Over the past 20 years, her work has centered on sexual and reproductive health equity and justice for individuals at the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. More recently, she has examined associations between structurally racist U.S. state laws and poor health outcomes among Black, Latine, and white adults, and currently collaborates with health equity researchers, legal scholars, and Black and Latine community advocates to address state laws' role in food injustice among communities of color. In 2023, she received the Dean's Award in Classroom Teaching Excellence and contributes as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Social Science & Medicine and the Editorial Collective of Feminist Studies. Notable publications include "Structural barriers to sexual and reproductive health care among Black and Latina cisgender and transgender U.S. women who use drugs: a qualitative study" (BMC Health Services Research, 2025), "Advancing equity in cervical cancer screening for sexual and gender minoritized people assigned female at birth (SGM AFAB) in the United States: recommendations from healthcare equity leaders" (Reproductive Health, 2025), "Exposure to structural racism-related state laws is associated with worse cardiovascular health among US adults, BRFSS 2011 and 2013" (American Journal of Epidemiology, 2024), and "Barriers to and opportunities for advancing racial equity in cervical cancer screening in the United States" (BMC Women's Health, 2024).

Professional Email: madina_agenor@brown.edu