Dr. Lori’s program of research contributes to the design and testing of innovative models of care to improve maternal and newborn health in areas of the world challenged by a lack of human resources, long distances to care, and cultural, gender, and socio-economic barriers. The design of the interventions utilizes a human rights framework to tackle the intractable problems of preventable maternal and newborn death through strengthening health systems and influencing reproductive health policy. Her research has contributed to the development of models of care to reduce the burden of maternal and newborn mortality on individuals, their families, and society through a program of participatory action research in low-resource countries.

The key policy issues driving her research are the 300,000 maternal deaths, 2.6 million stillbirths, and 2.8 million neonatal deaths that occur each year worldwide – with the vast majority occurring in low resource countries. Funding for her program of research has come from diverse intramural and extramural sources including the National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), multiple private foundations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ELMA, and Merck for Mothers. She has extensive field work experience in Ghana, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Liberia, Mexico, and Zambia.