Our Members

Safyer McKenzie-Sampson is the John G. Searle Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. McKenzie-Sampson is a health equity researcher, focused on researching the multi-level impacts of exposure to racial discrimination across the life course on the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in Black communities, with the goal of translating findings into interventions to increase birth justice. Her research portfolio uniquely interrogates the rates of adverse perinatal outcomes through the lens of maternal nativity in the United States, highlighting the experiences of Black immigrants. She was the principal investigator of the AZANIA study, a mixed methods pilot study which collected data on the pregnancy and childbirth experiences of African immigrants in California. In addition to her research, Dr. McKenzie-Sampson supports families as a full-spectrum community doula.