Ronna Popkin, Ph.D.

Ronna Popkin, Ph.D., is a program director in PDB, managing the branch’s programs in social, demographic, and behavioral research on reproductive health, fertility, and infertility. She originally joined PDB in 2016 as a program analyst and became a program official in 2019. Her research interests focus on social and behavioral research on reproductive health, adolescent health, sociogenomics, and health and risk communication. She is also the PDB contact for NICHD’s Small Business programs.

Dr. Popkin earned her Ph.D. and M.Phil. in sociomedical sciences, an interdisciplinary program in public health and sociology, from Columbia University, where she was supported by an NICHD-funded T32 grant. She holds an M.S. in curriculum and instruction/health education and a B.S. in women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her mixed-methods research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, American Association of University Women, and the Horowitz Foundation.