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July 30, 2026Short & citedBlog
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People File • Academic

Anita Raj

Anita Raj is an American developmental psychologist and global public health researcher focused on gender equity, sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and gender-based violence.

Updated July 30, 20261 min readCited sources

Anita Raj is an American developmental psychologist and global public health researcher whose work focuses on gender equity, sexual and reproductive health, and violence prevention. She currently serves as Executive Director of the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University.

What she does

Raj’s research examines how gender inequalities shape health outcomes, including maternal and child health, child marriage, and gender-based violence. She created and leads the EMERGE platform, an open-access resource for measuring gender empowerment, and the Violence EXperiences (VEX) study in California and Louisiana. She has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications.

Career path

Raj earned a B.S. in biology from Mississippi College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Georgia. Before joining Tulane in 2023, she held faculty and leadership roles at the University of California, San Diego, including as founding director of the Center on Gender Equity and Health.

Why it matters

Her work is relevant to Canadian public health researchers and policymakers studying violence prevention, reproductive health, and gender measurement methods. Raj has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and is considered one of the most cited social scientists globally.

In short

  • Anita Raj is a leading researcher on gender equity, reproductive health, and violence prevention.
  • She created the EMERGE platform for open-access gender empowerment measures.
  • She became Executive Director of Tulane’s Newcomb Institute in 2023.
  • Her work informs global health policy, including in Canada.
Canadian angle

Her work is relevant to Canadian readers in public health, gender equity, and global development, particularly for researchers and policymakers studying violence prevention, reproductive health, and gender measurement methods.

Quick questions

Who is Anita Raj?
Anita Raj is an American academic and public health researcher focused on gender equity, health disparities, and violence prevention.
What is Anita Raj’s current role?
She is the Executive Director of Tulane University’s Newcomb Institute and the Nancy Reeves Dreux Endowed Chair in Public Health.
What is EMERGE?
EMERGE is an open-access platform created and led by Raj that provides measures of gender empowerment for research and surveys.

Sources

  1. Tulane University Newcomb Institute — https://newcomb.tulane.edu/anita_raj
    Supports: Current position, research focus, EMERGE, VEX, publication volume, leadership roles
  2. Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine — https://sph.tulane.edu/anita-raj-elected-national-academy-medicine
    Supports: Current title, election to National Academy of Medicine, prior institutions, publication count
  3. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_Raj_(academic)
    Supports: Birth date, education, career timeline, previous UC San Diego roles
  4. University of California, San Diego — https://ph.ucsd.edu/phd/jdp/directory/faculty/raj.html
    Supports: Former UC San Diego professorship and research focus
  5. Georgetown University Berkley Center — https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/people/anita-raj
    Supports: UC San Diego roles and research focus
  6. Tata Trusts Horizons — https://horizons.tatatrusts.org/2019/december/tata-trusts-anita-raj.html
    Supports: Background, research description, advisory work