AIM Lab

Advancing Impact on Maternal and Reproductive Health (AIM) Lab at Brown University addresses the nation's reproductive and maternal health crisis through rigorous research and expert legal and policy analysis.

AIM Lab

Advancing Impact on Maternal and Reproductive Health (AIM) Lab at Brown University addresses the nation's reproductive and maternal health crisis through rigorous research and expert legal and policy analysis.

What's at Stake

U.S. maternal mortality rates far exceed other high-income countries, with Black and brown women facing disproportionate risk. Post-Dobbs restrictions, pending Medicaid cuts and reduced access to life- and health-saving health care are intensifying barriers to care for low-income, rural and marginalized communities. Leading causes of maternal death now include intimate partner homicide, overdose and suicide, all of which are exacerbated by reduced access to care.

Leveraging Brown's multidisciplinary expertise in public health, medicine, law, and social policy, the Lab will generate nonpartisan evidence to guide equitable reproductive health policy at local, state and national levels—particularly as opportunities emerge to rebuild critical systems and programs.

Critical Work in a Post-Dobbs World

The Lab will conduct interdisciplinary research on reproductive health care delivery, legal and policy impacts and equity outcomes, translating findings into peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs, toolkits and data visualizations. It will provide expert analysis on proposed and enacted laws affecting reproductive and maternal health while collaborating with state agencies, health departments and clinical systems to pilot and evaluate interventions.

Through convening scholars, students, clinicians, community organizations, lawyers and policymakers, the Lab will foster cross-sector dialogue and host symposia, workshops and media briefings to elevate evidence-based conversations around reproductive justice

Within three years, the Lab will establish Brown as a national leader in reproductive health policy research and translation, influencing state and federal decisions. It will develop evidence-based tools adopted by clinical and advocacy partners, ensuring reproductive health policy reflects rigorous science, ethical principles and justice-centered practice.

Areas of Focus

The Lab will apply a harm reduction approach to protecting women’s health and safety within the existing post-Dobbs context, while continuing to promote large scale evidence-based legal and policy reforms. The Lab will focus on three preventable causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality:

  • Ensuring pregnant women can access standard-of-care emergency Ob-Gyn services in states with restrictive abortion policies
  • Supporting clinicians and service providers to identify and advocate for perinatal women experiencing intimate partner violence
  • Promoting evidence-based clinical guidelines and policies for perinatal substance use and mental health 

Why Brown?

Brown’s unique interdisciplinary culture makes it ideally positioned for this work. The lab will build on the Reproductive Justice Collaborative, a partnership among the School of Public Health, Pembroke Center, Alpert Medical School, and Population Studies and Training Center.

Situated in Rhode Island, Brown maintains robust relationships with clinical organizations, community partners and the state legislature, while positioning the Lab as a national model for how universities can build collaborative engagement to support evidence-based policy.

Faculty Leadership

  • Tobin-Tyler

    Liz Tobin-Tyler

    Principal Investigator
    Research Profile

    Liz Tobin-Tyler, JD, MA, is a nationally recognized scholar on reproductive and perinatal health law and policy who regularly collaborates with public health researchers and clinicians. Her research focuses on the Black maternal health crisis, post-Dobbs maternal health policy, the effects of abortion bans on people experiencing reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence, and legal and clinical interpretations of abortion bans in emergency care.

    Her scholarship appears in premier journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, American Journal of Public Health, Health Affairs, and The Lancet. She is the author of two books on health justice and teaches courses on reproductive justice, public health law, and health justice. Professor Tobin-Tyler serves on Rhode Island's Pregnancy and Postpartum Death Review Committee and has participated on dozens of national, state, and community-based advisory boards and committees.

  • Kass

    Dara Kass

    Distinguished Senior Fellow
    FemInEM

    Dr. Dara Kass is a nationally recognized emergency physician, health policy leader, and advocate for reproductive justice and gender equity in medicine. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Services, Policy and Practice. She most recently served as Regional Director for Region 2 at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she led federal coordination across New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on issues of maternal health, emergency preparedness, and health equity.

    A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Kass is also the founder and strategic director of FemInEM, a national platform supporting women in emergency medicine working at the intersection of clinical emergency medicine and reproductive health care. She will help translate research into policy and practical guidance that will expand access to evidence-based reproductive healthcare and strengthen equity across the healthcare system.