Lauren Suchman is a qualitative researcher who has spent the past 10+ years working at the intersection of social disparities and health both internationally and domestically. Currently, Dr. Suchman is Director of Qualitative Research for the Innovations in Choice and Autonomy (ICAN) project based out of the Institute for Health and Aging at the School of Nursing. In this role, she leads qualitative research design and implementation for a project focusing on improving access to the contraceptive method mix across four countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Formerly, Dr. Suchman was an Evaluation Director with the Institute for Global Health Sciences where she focused on research design and data collection for the qualitative and mixed-methods evaluation of interventions to improve access to private family planning services in sub-Saharan Africa. She has particular expertise on how government regulatory and finance systems can effectively interface and support private provision of care in ways that best assure quality and access by marginalized populations.

Dr. Suchman has a PhD in Anthropology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and an MA in Population and Reproductive Health Research from the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand. Prior to joining UCSF, Dr. Suchman worked on implementation evaluations focusing on gender equity in the workplace and HIV/AIDS service delivery for Stanford University and the New York State Department of Health respectively. She also has written program and policy reports on reproductive health in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia for: the Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam; UNAIDS; and the Ford Foundation, Vietnam.