Dr. Ashley Hill is a visiting assistant professor, epidemiology, in the Graduate School of Public Health.
Her research aims to reduce disparities in sexually transmitted infections (STI) and reproductive sequela for young people. Specifically, she examines social determinants of adverse sexual and reproductive outcomes with the long-term goal of developing strategies to reduce reproductive morbidity. This research will ultimately dismantle systems that prohibit reproductive health equity.
Ashley has taken a novel approach to this serious public health issue by applying a syndemic framework to examine multiple contributors that increase risk of STIs in young adults. As a reproductive epidemiologist, her research agenda is grounded in syndemics, Critical Race and Public Health Critical Race theoretical frameworks that integrates epidemiologic study design, intervention development and community partnered research. Ashley's research findings to date highlight the need for multilevel approaches to addressing systemic inequities that heavily influence women’s environments, behaviors, and experiences.
Her research goals are to (1) develop measures of structural inequity, (2) understand the influence of discrimination on minority women’s sexual health, and (3) develop and assess feasibility and efficacy of multilevel interventions addressing structural inequity, interpersonal and individual level risk for adverse reproductive health.
Ashley holds a Bachelor of Science from Spelman College, a Master of Public Health from Georgia Southern University, and a Doctor of Public Health from Texas A&M University. Additionally, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar with the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's Department of Pediatrics.