Sarah Vincent, PhD, MSc
- Post-Doctoral Research Scientist in Population and Family Health
Overview
Dr. Sarah Vincent is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health. She is part of the Program on Women’s Empowerment Research (POWER), directed by Dr. Mahesh Karra.
Before joining Columbia, Dr. Vincent was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center, where she also worked under POWER. Her research is primarily based in India and sub-Saharan Africa, examining how gender norms and gender-based violence emerge and influence social and economic outcomes.
Academic Appointments
- Post-Doctoral Research Scientist in Population and Family Health
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- PhD, Economics, Aix-Marseille School of Economics
- MSc, Economics, Aix-Marseille School of Economics
Research
“Gender inequality is not one affliction, but many, with varying reach on the lives of women and men, and of girls and boys.” — Amartya Sen
Dr. Vincent is an applied microeconomist studying how gender norms and gender-based violence emerge and affect broader social and economic outcomes. Her work combines theoretical modelling and empirical analysis, utilizing data from surveys, historical archives, and randomized controlled trials to inform policy and advance gender equity.
Her current projects focus on:
- coercive reproductive health programs and their long-term impacts on gender-based violence;
- how gender norms shape female entrepreneurship and mobility;
- contraceptive concordance and preference-behavior alignment in family planning; and
- menstrual hygiene access and innovation in low-resource settings.
Selected Publications
Vincent S., Herrera-Almanza C., Anukriti S., & Karra M. (2025). Contraceptive Concordance. Studies in Family Planning, 56(3), 532–549. doi: 10.1111/sifp.70018. Epub 2025 Jul 9. PMID: 40635291; PMCID: PMC12501732.