United States

In the US, the Population Council has offices in New York City and Washington, DC, where our multi-disciplinary researchers collaborate with Council scientists across our offices and affiliated organizations (AOs) and global partners to conduct biomedical and social and behavioral research, pioneer cutting-edge data tools and methods, and systematically build bodies of evidence. US-based scientists lead global projects and initiatives, anchored in, and strengthened by insights and expertise from Global South researchers and communities. Through global fellowship programs, we provide mentorship to early career researchers across biomedical and social and behavioral sciences. 

The Council’s Center for Biomedical Research (CBR) is located on Rockefeller University’s New York City campus. CBR develops novel contraceptives and products that protect against sexually transmitted infections, and collaborates with industry and academic partners and leverages the Council’s global presence to ensure our biomedical products are introduced and accessible worldwide. 

The Council’s Social and Behavioral Science Research (SBSR) division advances the Council’s global research agenda and implements our research strategy to tackle pressing social, economic, health, and climate issues worldwide through leadership of projects and initiatives including: 

• Breakthrough RESEARCH, USAID’s flagship social and behavior change research program 

• The Community Demographic Model, a framework that generates climate and population dynamics scenarios simulations, and is used globally as an essential input to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and in the US by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate Resiliency to create localized demographic projections for adaptation and mitigation analysis at city scale
• The Evidence for Gender and Education Resource, a program that connects decision-makers to the data and evidence they need to address gender inequalities and injustices in the global education sector 

We also translate innovations from our body of research from the Global South to the US context, including:  

• Incubated the Indigenous Adolescent Girls’ Empowerment Network (IMAGEN) for five years, to become a newly created independent organization, the Indigenous Justice Circle, moving toward greater Native American control and self-determination; 
• Preventing violence perpetrated by boys and young men through programs that shift patriarchal gender norms; and, 

• Understanding PrEP usage for HIV prevention and other sexual and reproductive health indicators among socially marginalized populations. 

And our work in the US has shifted the policy landscape for achieving sexual and reproductive health and rights. The Council-developed Copper-T IUD and Mirena intrauterine system brought highly safe and efficacious long-acting reversible contraceptives to the United States. In 2000, the Council secured US FDA approval for mifepristone, the abortion pill. And our It’s All One Curriculum—unique for its placement of gender and rights at the center of comprehensive sexuality education—is used by schools and community organizations in all 50 states.  

The Council is home to two peer-reviewed journals, Population and Development Review (PDR) and Studies in Family Planning (SFP), which are managed by US-based editorial teams and global editorial committees. PDR and SFP—both committed to diversity in scholarly publishing—are now the top ranked journals among demography and sexual and reproductive health publications. Our journals set discourse and shape understanding of issues in the global health and development sector—measured not just by citations but through contributions in transforming evidence-based programs and policies around the world.