Kelly E. Murray, MPH

As of August 2024, Kelly is a third-year PhD student in the Department of International Health and Sustainable Development at Tulane. She combines a scientific background with strong communication skills, developed through more than a decade of experience as a full-time writer with CNN and CNN International in Atlanta and Hong Kong. Kelly holds an MPH with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavior, as well as undergraduate degrees in Anthropology and Journalism. She continues to freelance as a journalist, writing about a range of complex global issues with clarity, sensitivity, and impact.

Kelly is most passionate about addressing the sociocultural and socioeconomic issues affecting women and girls. As a Dean's Research Council scholar, she has published on child marriage and reproductive and maternal health outcomes in Liberia and Sierra Leone. She has also conducted data analysis for MOMENTUM, an integrated family planning, nutrition, and reproductive health intervention in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For her dissertation, Kelly plans to use a multi-method approach to explore the intersection of gender-based violence and climate stressors in the urban slums of Kampala, Uganda.

Driven by a commitment to amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities, Kelly’s work aims to address global public health disparities through innovative, community-centered approaches. Her ability to bridge storytelling with data-driven insights uniquely positions her to advance sustainable health and development initiatives, and to disseminate research findings to diverse audiences.

Outside of her research, she serves as the Social Committee Chair for PHDS-- the doctoral student government group. She also enjoys singing in the Tulane-Newcomb Choir, taking yoga classes, listening to live music, and caring for her dog, Sap Jai.