Blog

Illustration of the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

On the Heights: October 2025

Faculty research shapes policy debates on mass deportation, SNAP benefits, and health communication while centers expand lifecourse research focus and new technology advances lab safety training.

Safyer McKenzie-Sampson

Investigating racism's impact on birth outcomes

Q&A with University of Michigan researcher Safyer McKenzie-Sampson on racism’s impact on reproductive health

Safyer McKenzie-Sampson is the John G. Searle Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Behavior & Health Equity at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She focuses her research on the multi-level impacts of racial discrimination on adverse perinatal outcomes in Black communities. Her work uniquely examines these outcomes through the lens of maternal nativity, highlighting the experiences of Black immigrants