Dr. Alison Edelman, MD, MPH
Alison Edelman, M.D., M.P.H. is the Leon Speroff Endowed Professor. She is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Division Director of Complex Family Planning (CFP), the Dept of OB/GYN Vice Chair of Research, and the Scientific Director of the OB/GYN Dept. Clinical Trials Unit (WHRU) at Oregon Health & Science University. She completed all of her medical training at OHSU (MD 1997, OB/GYN Residency 2001) and was OHSU's very first complex family planning fellow (2001-2003). She completed a Master in Public Health at University of Washington, Seattle (2003). Dr. Edelman provides OB/GYN care at OHSU's Center for Women's Health, with a focus on complex family planning. Dr. Edelman is an active clinician-scientist with independent research funding. Her research has focused on management of contraceptive induced menstrual changes, emergency contraception, the interaction of obesity and contraceptive efficacy, and the COVID-19 vaccine and menstrual cycles. She is the Oregon site principal investigator for the National Institutes of Health NICHD Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network. Her research has been recognized with the American Society for Emergency Contraception Charlotte Ellertson Innovation Award (2017) and Contraception's 2019 Daniel R. Mishell, Jr MD Outstanding Article Award. For over 20 years, Dr. Edelman has served as a global technical consultant in sexual and reproductive health, supporting ministries of health and international non-governmental organizations on national strategies for safe abortion and post-abortion care and for expanding contraceptive method mix and post-partum contraceptive care. She was appointed in 2022 to the UN/WHO Scientific and Technical Advisory Group of the Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, and was chosen to chair it in 2026. She is Lead Editor of the Cochrane Fertility Regulation Review Group, an Associate Editor of Contraception, a member of the expert working group for the CDC Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use, and a member of the World Health Organization's steering committee for the WHO MEC. She recently completed her term as Chair of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists Committee on Gynecology Practice Bulletins.
Qualifications
- MD, Oregon Health & Science University (1997)
- Residency, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University (2001)
- Fellowship, Complex Family Planning, Oregon Health & Science University (2003)
- MPH, University of Washington, Seattle (2003)
Current
- Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine — Leon Speroff Endowed Professor; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Division Director, Complex Family Planning
- OHSU Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology — Vice Chair of Research; Scientific Director, Clinical Trials Unit (WHRU)
- UN/WHO Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research — Chair (appointed 2022; chair from 2026)