Lauren Mitchell (she/her) joined the Institute in 2023 as a Research Assistant II. Her primary interests include abortion access and sexual and reproductive health equity, specifically among LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities. She previously worked as a Data Analyst, Technical Assistant and Implementation Science Fellow on an international family planning project at FHI 360. As a student researcher with the Duke University School of Medicine, Ms. Mitchell studied community-based participatory health research among individuals with developmental disabilities. She received her BS in neuroscience and her BA in global health in 2022 from Duke University, where she led an independent research project to assess the impact of developmental disability on contraceptive access using North Carolina Medicaid claims data.