Departmental Affiliations
Center & Institute Affiliations
Joanne Katz, ScD ’93, MS, is an epidemiologist with expertise in maternal, neonatal, and child health and extensive work experience in Nepal and other South Asian countries.
Contact Info
Research Interests
epidemiology; biostatistics; community trials; micronutrients; maternal health; neonatal health; child health; adolescent pregnancy; reproductive health; Nepal
Experiences & Accomplishments
My research aims to reduce mortality and morbidity in under-served populations in low and middle income countries. The underlying discipline bases for this research are epidemiology, community randomized trials and biostatistics. Areas of focus include (1) maternal, neonatal and child health, (2) nutritional deficiencies and (3) infectious diseases.
Current projects include
1. A community based randomized trial to examine the impact of an oral health intervention in pregnancy on preterm birth in Sarlahi District, Nepal.
2. A community based randomized trial to test the efficacy of a balanced protein energy supplement for daily use during pregnancy on the outcomes of pregnancy and growth of infants during the first 6 months of life in Sarlahi District, Nepal.
3. Estimate prevalence and risk factors for preterm, small-for-gestational-age and low birth weight and the impact of these adverse birth outcomes on neonatal mortality in low and middle income countries.
4. The impact of heat stress on pregnancy outcomes and neonatal mortality in rural Nepal and Bangladesh.
Honors & Awards
2023 Dean’s Award for Distinction in Faculty Mentoring
2019 Golden Apple teaching Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (medium size class)
2018 Ernest Lyman Stebbins Medal for extraordinary contributions to the educational programs of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
2016 Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame
2014 Data for Life Prize
2011 Johns Hopkins Alumni Knowledge for the World Award
2011 Global Health Excellence in Advising Award, Johns Hopkins University
2011 Golden Apple teaching Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (medium size class)
Advising, Mentoring and Teaching Recognition Award, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2002, 2005, 2011
1993 Delta Omega (Public Health Honor Society)
Select Publications
A selection of 5 publication from the past year.
Katz J, SK Khatry, Shrestha L, Summers A, Visscher MO, Sherchand JB Tielsch JM, Subedi S, LeClerq SC, Mullany LC. Impact of topical applications of sunflower seed oil on neonatal mortality and morbidity in southern Nepal: a community-based, cluster-randomized trial. BMJ Global Health 2024;9:e013691. PMID: 10910473
Manandhar P, Katz J, Lama TP, Khatry SK, Moss WJ, Erchick DJ. COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage Among Adults in Sarlahi District of Nepal in 2022. PLOS Glob Public Health 2025 5(5): e0003916. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003916
Bhutta ZA, Islam M, Gaffey M, Victora C, Menon P, Katz J, Horton S, Yearwood J, Black RE. What works for reducing stunting in Low- & Middle-income countries? cumulative learnings from the Global Stunting Exemplars Project. Am J Clin Nutr 121 (2025) S113–S128.
Sheffel A, Carter E, Heidkamp R, Hossain AT, Katz J, Kim S, Lama TP, Marchant T, Perin J, Requejo J, Walton S, Munos MK. Effective coverage for maternal health: operationalizing effective coverage cascades for antenatal care and nutrition interventions for pregnant women in seven low- and middle-income countries. J Glob Health. 2025; 15: 04041. Published online 2025 Apr 11. doi: 10.7189/jogh.15.04041 PMCID:PMC11987578
Perin J, Liu L, Mullany LC, Tielsch JM, Verhulst A, Guilot M, Katz J. Adapting the log quadratic model to estimate age- and cause-specific mortality among neonates. PLOS ONE 2024 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287622 PMCID:PMC11244816.