40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award success for St Cross DPhil

Sahana has long dark hair, and is smiling broadly at the camera. She wears a smart sleeveless top, and is pictured against a plain background.

St Cross College is delighted to announce that DPhil student Sahana Narayan has been named a recipient of the 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award, recognising emerging global leaders whose work is shaping a more just and equitable future. The honour highlights her outstanding research into improving maternal health and advancing equity in reproductive care. 

Sahana is a doctoral researcher in Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford, one of only twelve funded through the Medical Research Council (MRC) Doctoral Training Programme.  

Her DPhil investigates how risk is communicated and negotiated during childbirth, and how these practices influence autonomy, clinical decision-making, and maternal outcomes. By examining the systemic dynamics that shape obstetric care, including structural inequities and the undervaluing of patients’ lived experiences, her research aims to reduce adverse outcomes such as fetal hypoxia, postpartum haemorrhage, sepsis, and maternal mortality. Integrating clinical inquiry with critical analysis of power, bias, and data systems, she seeks to contribute evidence that drives safer, more respectful, and more person-centred maternity care. 

Sahana’s academic trajectory reflects rigorous interdisciplinary training, including master’s degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, where she specialised in bioethics, social medicine, scientific communication, and reproductive health policy. Her previous research, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, spanning Uganda, Cameroon, Ukraine, and the United States, has placed particular emphasis on the experiences of those who are most impacted by gaps in maternal and reproductive health systems. Sahana has also published across leading public health and clinical journals on topics ranging from postpartum blood pressure monitoring to barriers to respectful maternity care.