Chelsea Polis joined the Guttmacher Institute as a Senior Research Scientist in 2014 and became a Principal Research Scientist in 2020. Trained in epidemiological methods, Dr. Polis has designed and implemented randomized clinical trials, analyzed observational data, and conducted several systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Her portfolio includes work on contraceptive safety, effectiveness, and choice, as well as on abortion, multipurpose prevention technologies, measurement of infertility, and other subjects in sexual and reproductive health. She has collaborated with scientists from around the world, including projects based in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and elsewhere.

Dr. Polis earned a BA in medical anthropology from Brown University and completed her PhD and postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where she focused on reproductive health epidemiology. In 2008, she was awarded the Gary Stewart Scholarship for Research in Public Health, and in 2016, was selected as an Amazing Alumni by the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at Johns Hopkins. Prior to joining the Guttmacher Institute, she served as Senior Epidemiological Advisor to the Office of Population and Reproductive Health at the United States Agency for International Development. Her collaborations with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contributed to updating global contraceptive guidance in the WHO’s Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use. Dr. Polis serves on the Editorial Advisory Committee for International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, and on the Editorial Board for Contraception. Since 2011, she has held an Associate appointment in the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins.