Barbara Friedland

Barbara Friedland is a Senior Associate at the Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research based in New York. Since joining the Council, Friedland has implemented clinical and behavioral research to advance the development of microbicides and multipurpose prevention technologies. 

Friedland’s current research focuses on how product, provider, and end-user factors influence acceptability, adherence, and method continuation. She is currently leading a Gates-funded study to evaluate the acceptability of the one-year Annovera contraceptive ring distributed through family planning clinics in Kenya and Zimbabwe.  She is also conducting studies to determine how the mechanical properties of vaginal rings (size, flexibility) impact preference, adherence and acceptability to inform future ring development at the Population Council and for the field. 

She recently completed two mixed-methods studies in Zimbabwe and South Africa to explore if a single dual prevention pill (DPP) combining oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with oral contraception would increase adherence to PrEP compared to PrEP and oral contraception taken separately. In collaboration with stakeholders and with funding from USAID, Friedland also coordinated updates to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index. Updates included the development and validation of a new Resilience Scale for people living with HIV. 

Friedland has published nearly 70 articles and presented over 100 abstracts at domestic and international conferences.  She has a Masters of Public Health, with a focus on community health education, from Hunter College of the City University of New York.