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I am an Assistant Professor of History at ´ó·¢²ÊƱ.  My book,  "Reproductive Labors: Women's Expertise and Biomedical Authority in Mali 1880-1991," focuses on the history of global health, indigenous medicine, and gender in 20th century Mali. Historically, Malians relied on several different kinds of older women reproductive specialists (such as midwives and nuptial counselors), whose interventions helped women to become socially-recognized mothers. When the French colonized Mali, they introduced biomedicine (sometimes called "Western medicine"), which had its own forms of maternal medicine. My research emphasizes how indigenous women specialists shaped the form of the biomedical health system. I became interested this topic while living in Bamako from 2008-2013. I worked for a public health non-profit which promoted community engagement in health and access to primary health care. My professional experiences made me curious why some forms of local knowledge were considered therapeutic, and others were not.