Research Assistant

Carlan Welsby is a research assistant at Iris Group and has participated in projects such as USAID Gender Leadership, Equity, and Advancement for Development (LEAD) and Building Evidence for Decision-Making (BE4D). Carlan gathers and analyses information to support senior researchers and provides project 
administrative tasks such as documentation, project material management, and daily support. Notably, Carlan led one of the main deliverables for LEAD, developing and presenting a gender analysis database.
 

Before joining the Iris Group, Carlan earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying environmental health sciences and engineering, and minoring in women and gender studies. Carlan’s research experience began in the Equity and Environmental Justice 
Program where she used quantitative research skills to discern placental genetic pathways perturbed by metal exposure. In congruence with her interest in epidemiology, Carlan connected her epigenetic findings to North Carolina well water data to identify regions experiencing similar metal contamination. With the Gender-
Based Violence Research Group, Carlan organized and hosted a four-hour-long symposium showcasing solution-oriented gender-based violence research.
 

Carlan is also a trained doula. This training taught her about demedicalized and diversified reproductive healthcare, along with health advocacy.