Author: Lorraine Poncet

Lorraine Poncet was born in Lyon, France. She studied political science at the Political Science Institute of Lyon and also spent time in Beijing where she learned Chinese. Lorraine interned with the HIV/AIDS team in the United Nations Development Program office in Beijing where she was able to write on the HIV/AIDS epidemic occurring in China. She then moved to Taiwan to study at the National Yang Ming University of Taipei where she received a Master of Public Health. Her graduate work focused on social factors associated with contraception use of immigrant women in France. Lorraine returned to France and worked for an NGO and organized sexual health prevention workshops for socially vulnerable immigrant women. She then joined the Gender and Sexual Health team in the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. In this position, she analyzed data and wrote scientific articles on social disparities in cervical cancer screenings and HPV vaccines. Lorraine also spent time volunteering in outreach prevention programs with homeless people and sex workers. In her spare time, she loves to read, swim, do yoga, cook and spend time with family and friends.