VIBE Research Lab Mission Statement

Our VIBE Research Lab broadly studies the ways in which social and placed-based environments structure maternal and child inequities. Our work focuses on examining topics related to:

Under the direction of Dr. Teresa Janevic, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, the VIBE Research Lab uses diverse research methodologies including quasi-experimental design, longitudinal cohorts, mixed methods, agent-based modelling, place-based and social epidemiology, and implementation science to explore questions related to birth and postpartum health outcomes, and perinatal health services and policy. By using novel methods, we can identify key research findings that can be leveraged by policy makers, public health officials, and other key stakeholders in health care systems to improve programmatic leverage points and promote reproductive health equity.

VIBE Research Lab’s Values & Commitments

As researchers, we believe that the core of our work is to contribute to improving public health equity by developing intellectually rigorous and novel research and disseminating those findings both inside and outside of traditional academic settings. In this way, our work and values as researchers are guided by:  

Our Foundational Values

  • Research & Evaluation: Using novel methods, we hope to generate knowledge about root causes of disparities in maternal and postpartum health trajectories and determine policy and programmatic strategies that may improve health equity.

  • Community Engagement: We are committed to engaging communities affected by our work through Community Working Groups, who directly inform our research throughout the study process, and through evaluations of community-based programs, such as the HoPE Pilot and the Growing HoPE doula programs.

  • Mentorship future public health: Preparing the next generation of interdisciplinary and public health practitioners and researchers to examine and dismantle systemic inequalities is a critical component of our work. We are committed to a safe, supportive atmosphere built on mutual respect, care, and well-being. We are open to working with students across Columbia University.

  • Collaboration: We believe open-mindedness and trust form the basis of rich multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations. Our collaborators are comprised of biostatisticians, economists, geographers, nurse-scientists, obstetrician-gynecologists, psychologists, sociologists, and other related biomedical and social scientists who provide distinctive perspectives to our work. We value institutional partnerships, such as our collaboration with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, to create impactful evidence and use research as praxis.

Our Core Commitments

  • Equity - We envision a world in which every birthing person is supported by a healthy environment and has access to high-quality, compassionate care and where the systems of oppression that place Global Majority people at heightened risk of poor health outcomes are dismantled.

  • Intellectual rigor - We are committed to producing high-caliber ethical research that is reproducible, replicable, and transparent, and can be used to inform policies and programs.

  • Innovation: - We strive to use novel and innovative research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, to surface disparities in pregnancy and postpartum health outcomes and go beyond describing disparities to identify mechanisms to eliminate them.

  • Dissemination - We hope to bring research to those positioned to act on our findings and improve health equity. This includes bringing research directly to communities and patients, healthcare systems, and policymakers.