Congratulations to Dr. Laura Jacobson — PSU Researcher of the Year!

We’re thrilled to celebrate Laura Jacobson, Assistant Professor at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health at Portland State University, for being named PSU’s Researcher of the Year 2026!

Laura Jacobson, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Health Systems, Management, and Policy at PSU in the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, with a secondary appointment in OHSU’s Division of Complex Family Planning. She holds a PhD from the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health and an MPH from the University of Wisconsin. She is a recipient of the American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship, the 2025 National Abortion Federation Carole Joffe and Stanley Henshaw Early Achievement in Social Science Research Award, and is a scholar in PSU’s inaugural Catalyst Research Immersive.

Her research focuses on improving how health systems measure and deliver medication abortion follow-up care, with particular attention to quality measurement and person-centered outcomes globally. She is also interested in quality of life across the reproductive life course, including emerging work on menopause. Her recent publications in the American Journal of Public Health, BMC Public Health, Contraception, and BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health examine medication abortion history, safety, follow-up care-seeking, and quality measurement across multiple contexts. This year, she led a World Health Organization-commissioned white paper on strengthening global post-abortion care-seeking indicators.

Currently, she is developing a research program to transform how follow-up care after medication abortion is measured and delivered, in collaboration with Ibis Reproductive Health, bridging measurement science, clinical practice, and equitable global health partnerships.