Dr. Cicely Marston

Biography

Cicely Marston has over 25 years of experience in interdisciplinary health research worldwide, focusing on understanding complex problems and developing innovative research methods to inform interventions. Her work particularly emphasizes sexual and reproductive health and health equity. Currently a Professor of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, she founded and leads the DEPTH research group that has centered around community participation in health for more than a decade. Her research encompasses both quantitative and qualitative methods, with a focus on contraception and abortion from an intersectional, reproductive justice perspective, considering the social, temporal, and material context surrounding sexual practices and healthcare. Marston has studied Human Sciences at Magdalen College, Oxford, and earned her Medical Demography MSc at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She pursued an interdisciplinary PhD and postdoctoral work involving research into young people’s sexual practices, participatory health promotion, and sexuality education. Her PhD fieldwork took place in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, engaging with marginalized communities and studying the Mexfam’s internationally-renowned sexuality education program Gente Joven. Following her time at Imperial College, she returned to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2005 before moving to Oxford in 2025. Throughout her career, she has supervised research spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Asia, and Africa, as well as the UK.

Research Interests