Renaisa Anthony, M.D.

Renaisa S. Anthony is Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Prevention and Community Health.

Growing up in Detroit, Dr. Anthony witnessed the disease burden that falls disproportionately on inner-city and minority populations, and made an early commitment to improving the lives of disadvantaged populations. After completing her medical and public health education in women's health, she moved to Washington seeking opportunities to integrate medicine, public health, and health policy. Since joining SPHHS in 2008, Dr. Anthony has focused on racial and ethnic disparities as they pertain to women's health and reproductive outcomes. Previously, she was an American Association for the Advancement of Science Health Policy Fellow at the National Institutes of Health and the Office of the Surgeon General, where she led initiatives to improve the health of women and children. Her contribution to the U.S. Surgeon General's Conference on the Prevention of Preterm Birth was honored for outstanding service by the Surgeon General. In addition to her GW responsibilities, she is a consultant to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and to the DHHS Office on Women's Health. Dr. Anthony also serves on Congressional committees dedicated to health care reform. When she is not pursuing professional commitments, Dr. Anthony cultivates her musical interests by playing guitar and performing karaoke, and as an avid fan of the rock band Envy on the Coast. In 2006, she appeared on Price is Right -- wearing her Harvard T-shirt, University of Chicago scrubs, and gold high heels -- and won a Tiffany lamp and his and hers Croton watches!

• Bachelor of Science (Animal science and biology), University of Minnesota, 1999 • Doctor of Medicine, University of Chicago, 2006 • Master of Public Health, Harvard University, 2005

• PubH 376 - Preventing Health Disparities

Dr. Anthony is principal investigator for the "Outcomes of Chronic Hypertension in Pregnancy," a prospective, cohort study funded by the National Institutes of Health. She is also partnering with GW Medical Faculty Associates and the Washington Hospital Center to identify risk factors contributing to poor reproductive outcomes, develop effective interventions, and assess a promising biomarker for preeclampsia diagnosis. Dr. Anthony previously conducted research on the human papilloma virus (HPV) and cervical cancer at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Anthony has travelled the world on medical missions, providing service and supplies to populations in need in Cuba, South Africa, Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica. In the summer of 2008, she led a medical mission to Ecuador, where her team built water filters and staffed a medical clinic that treated more than 150 patients. She is currently working on a Women's Health Week in Ecuador for 2009 and is a volunteer at women's health clinics and shelters, providing medical services and patient education.