Origin Story: Once a fearless health educator during the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Lisa discovered her superpowers in the fight for adolescent sexual and reproductive health. From leading HIV prevention to building safe havens for LGBTQ+ youth, she forged her mission: transforming evidence into action. Now at Lehigh, she uses her powers to train the next generation of health equity heroes, wielding research, education, and action like a true public health guardian!

Super Powers: youth-centered prevention, sexuality and LGBTQ+ health education, mixed-methods research, program-building, misinformation disruptor

Origin Story:  Joanna didn’t start with a cape—just a deep curiosity about why some people get left behind when it comes to reproductive health. Armed with a notebook, a knack for asking questions and listening, and a passion for fairness, she set off to uncover the stories behind the statistics, from Poland, Ireland, to the U.S. and beyond. After years of studying the politics of reproduction and sexuality, she knew the best way to fight health inequalities was to join Lehigh’s College of Health and co-found the SRH Power Lab. 

Super Powers: qualitative, ethnographic, and mixed-methods; fieldwork in varied geopolitical contexts

Origin Story: Once a mild-mannered quantitative researcher conducting large-scale, school-based prevention intervention evaluations, Tracy was bitten by a radioactive community-engagement bug. She was transformed into a qualitative scholar helping community partners develop and evaluate reproductive health programming. A once-in-a-lifetime alignment of the stars then transported her to Lehigh University’s College of Health so she could fulfill her destiny by co-founding the SRH Power Lab. 

Super Powers: qualitative methodology, arts-based methods, theoretical and conceptual framing, community-driven research

Origin Story: As a newborn’s lilting cries filled the labor and delivery room, a wide-eyed, 15-year-old Fathima, prone to daydreaming and reflective inquiry, felt her call to action during a high school internship. In that moment, a lukewarm teenage interest in becoming a physician transformed into a lifelong mission: uncovering how risk and protective forces across the lifecourse shape maternal, child, and population health. Now at Lehigh, Fathima wields mixed-methods and community-based research to explore protective factors, including sexual and reproductive health and agency, that empower minoritized women and families to thrive amid growing inequities.

Super Powers: equity-centered maternal and health inquiry; mixed-methods, community-based research; conceptual framework development

Origin Story: Eric gained his power as a slow fusion of maps, models, and an obsession with patterns hiding in plain sight. Trained in geography and forged in the world of spatial epidemiology, he learned early that where you live can shape how long—and how well—you live. From tracking disease clusters to mapping access, emotions, and inequities across space and time, Eric realized his true calling: turning complex data into stories that matter. Now at Lehigh, he harnesses geospatial analytics, machine learning, and a relentless curiosity to expose hidden structures of inequality and mentor the next generation of data-savvy public health heroes—always one map ahead of the problem.

Super Powers: spatial epidemiology, disease cluster detection, geospatial machine learning, advanced mapping & visualization, neat map design, translating complex data into policy-relevant insight, interdisciplinary bridge-building

Origin Story: Once a quiet observer shadowed by self-doubt, Erinn transformed her uncertainty into a relentless drive for justice, forging herself into a formidable social epidemiologist. She honed her skills as a mixed-methods researcher and learned to wield her data to dismantle oppression and her voice to amplify the silenced. When the pandemic descended, she fought for the health and safety of incarcerated populations through her advocacy and research. Now operating from the Lehigh University College of Health Powerlab, she continues the crusade, using her powers to ensure safe, equitable access to sexual and reproductive health services for all, including those behind bars.

Super Powers: social epidemiology, mixed-methods, health policy analysis, commercial determinants of health, public speaking, criminal-legal research, advocacy and activism

Origin Story: Mohammed’s origin story began at the intersection of faith, identity, and health, where questions were often avoided rather than answered. Trained in cellular & molecular biology and later in global health with a focus on emerging infectious diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic, he quickly realized that biology alone could not explain why some communities thrive while others are harmed by stigma, silence, and exclusion. As he listened to the lived experiences of minoritized communities, particularly those marginalized on the basis of gender identity and expression, navigating health systems shaped by religion, culture, and power, his mission crystallized: to examine how stigma, power, and identity shape health and belonging. Now at Lehigh, Mohammed channels research, teaching, and community engagement to challenge dominant narratives, bridge divides between science and spirituality, and center equity and justice in public health.

Super Powers: quantitative research and statistical analysis, qualitative methodology, equity-centered health inquiry, global and humanitarian public health storytelling, bridge-building across differences.

Origin Story: Sandra’s journey into population health began with an unapologetic drive to fight gender inequity and advocate for women and girls-work that first took shape through adolescent health, family planning, contraception, and abortion programming before leading her to menstrual health research. Along the way, she discovered a love for listening to communities, telling their stories, and asking important questions about who gets left behind in accessing healthcare. Now a doctoral student at Lehigh, Sandra brings her passion, curiosity, and lived experience working with vulnerable populations to sexual and reproductive health research, and always looking for ways studies and interventions can better reflect and impact real lives.

Super Powers: sexual and reproductive health research, menstrual health, conceptual framework development, storytelling, community-centred program design, social entrepreneurship, training and facilitation

Origin Story: Rejoice’s origin story began long before the data, rooted in global health realities where access to sexual and reproductive care was uneven, politicized, and too often denied. Trained in public health across Nigeria, Lebanon, and the United States, she developed her powers by asking hard questions about who gets to make reproductive choices and who is systematically left out. As her work expanded across humanitarian, policy, and academic spaces, Rejoice came to see how structural inequities, misinformation, and policy gaps accumulate across the life course to shape women’s reproductive autonomy, particularly among African immigrant and marginalized communities. Now a PhD student at Lehigh and a core member of the SRH Power Lab, she wields cross-national research, policy analysis, and community-engaged methods to challenge reproductive injustice and transform evidence into action, fighting for access, agency, and dignity across borders.

Super Powers: sexual and reproductive health equity; contraceptive access and misinformation research; life-course and cumulative disadvantage frameworks; mixed-methods and DHS-based quantitative analysis; health policy analysis; global and immigrant health; evidence-to-policy translation

Origin Story: It was a stormy morning in Bangladesh when a boy shaped by patriarchal norms was caught (hired) by a group of social scientists and decided to administer socio-active injections to create a superhero for their SRHR lab. At first, the boy was exposed to the lived realities of substance abuse by engulfing a bunch of stories of urban slum adolescents! He grew humanity in his thinking. Then the scientists gave him injections of social disparity, inequity, and suffering based on people’s identity. The boy started thinking about equity, a space where everyone feels safe, a world where no discrimination takes place in terms of sexual and reproductive health. The lab-grown regional superhero is now on a mission to acquire new combat techniques and skills from world-class superheroes by pursuing his PhD and becoming a member of the SRH power lab at Lehigh University to sharpen his superpowers. 

Super Powers: Qualitative Research, Art-based Advocacy, Narrative Ethics, Community-Based Participatory Research

Origin Story: Laura’s fight for justice began in her teenage years, sparked by a realization that inequality was the true enemy of health. While training as a pharmacist, she discovered her true calling wasn't just treating individuals, but healing entire communities through Public Health. Her journey took her from interning with individuals involved in commercial sexual exploitation to conducting research as a PhD candidate. Today, she is dedicated to mapping and understanding the landscape of exploitation across the Lehigh Valley.

Super Powers: gender equity and women's rights advocate, quantitative research, qualitative research, participatory research, interdisciplinary, and critical feminist theory framework.

Origin Story: Drawn to medicine but grounded in public health thinking, Laxmi's origin story began with her seeing health not as a single diagnosis, but as the outcome of systems, policies, and lived experience. Whether decoding data, preparing for the next academic challenge, or thinking critically about care across communities, Laxmi’s origin story is still unfolding and is powered by curiosity, discipline, and a deep commitment to making health systems work better for everyone.

Super Powers: health equity mindset; interdisciplinary thinking; academic endurance; critical analysis; future physician-advocate energy

Origin Story: Nikitha’s origin story began with a persistent curiosity about why maternal and child health outcomes look so different across communities, and what those differences mean for real people’s lives. Research became her way of turning that curiosity into clarity, drawing on data, stories, and policy analysis to understand how systems shape care long before someone ever enters a clinic. Now a senior at Lehigh University and a member of the SRH Power Lab, Nikitha uses population health and policy-informed research to examine maternal and child health disparities and the systems that shape inequitable outcomes.

Super Powers: maternal and child health equity; community-driven research; qualitative research and thematic synthesis; health policy and systems thinking

Origin Story: High above the Lehigh Valley, Clutch discovered his superpowers while watching Lehigh University scholars and students work to advance health, equity, and justice. When misinformation and harmful policies began threatening bodily autonomy and community well-being, he rose to the challenge. Inspired by the Sexual and Reproductive Health Power Lab, Clutch transformed into a fearless guardian of truth, justice, and research - soaring into action whenever science and equity are under attack.

Super Powers: Truth detection; research amplification; misinformation disruption; policy navigation; community protection; collective power boosting