Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Department of Medicine

Faculty Profiles

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photo Sonya Borrero, MD, MS

General Internal Medicine

Professor of Medicine; Clinical and Translational Science; and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences

Director, Center for Innovative Research on Gender Health Equity (CONVERGE)

Associate Director, VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion (CHERP)

Co-Director, VA Advanced Fellowship Program in Women’s Health

Email: borrerosp@upmc.edu

Phone: 412-692-4841

Contact
Office: 230 McKee Place, Suite 600
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
 
Phone: 412-692-4841
Fax: 412-692-4838
E-mail: borrerosp@upmc.edu
Education and Training
Education
BA, Amherst College, 1996
MD, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, 2001
MS, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
Training
Internal Medicine Residency, University of Pittsburgh, 2004
General Medicine Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
Research Interest
Dr. Borrero’s work strives to advance reproductive health equity. Her research has been funded by NIH, VA, and foundation grants and has focused on understanding multilevel influences on contraceptive and pregnancy decision making in marginalized populations in order to identify targets for social, clinical, and policy interventions that will decrease people’s risk for undesired pregnancy and that will augment reproductive autonomy. Her current projects include optimizing pre-pregnancy and contraceptive care provision within the VA Healthcare System; developing patient-centered digital tools to support women’s reproductive decision making and facilitate provider provision of family planning care; and advancing understanding of how social and structural factors and inequalities shape and constrain low-income men’s and women’s reproductive agency, intentions, and behaviors.
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Borrero S, Schwarz EB, Reeves MF, Bost JE, Creinin MD, Ibrahim SA. Race, insurance status, and tubal sterilization. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007; 109: 94-100.
Borrero S, Reeves MF, Schwarz EB, Bost JE, Creinin MD, Ibrahim SA. Race, insurance status, and desire for tubal sterilization reversal. Fertility and Sterility. 2008; 90: 272-277.
Borrero S, Schwarz EB, Creinin M, Ibrahim. The impact of race and ethnicity on receipt of family planning services in the United States. Journal of Women’s Health (Larchmont). 2009; 18: 91-96.
Borrero S, Moore CG, Qin L, Schwarz EB, Akers A, Creinin MD, Ibrahim SA. Unintended pregnancy influences racial disparity in tubal sterilization rates. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2010; 25: 122-128.
Borrero S, Zhao X, Mor MK, Schwarz EB, Good CB, Gellad WF. Adherence to hormonal contraception among women veterans: Differences by race/ethnicity and contraceptive supply. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2013; 209(2):103e1-11. 2013; 209: 103e1-111e1.
Gelman A, Miller E, Schwarz EB, Akers AY, Jeong K, Borrero S. Racial disparities in human papillomavirus vaccination: Does access matter?. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2013; 53: 756-762.
Borrero S, Zite N, Potter J, Trussell J, Smith K. Potential unintended pregnancies averted and cost savings associated with a revised Medicaid sterilization policy. Contraception. 2013; 88: 691-696.
Callegari L, Zhao X, Nelson K, Lehavot K, Bradley K, Borrero S. Associations of mental illness and substance use disorders with prescription contraception use among women veterans. Contraception. 2014; 90: 97-103.
Borrero S, Zite N, Potter J, Trussell J. Medicaid policy on sterilization: Anachronistic or still relevant?. New England Journal of Medicine. 2014; 370(2): 102-104.
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: Developing and Testing a Decision Support Tool for Women Making Tubal Sterilization Decisions
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities
Grant Number: R01 MD011678
Start Year: 2017
End Year: 2022
Title: Sexual Reproductive Health in Adult Women with Cystic Fibrosis
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Grant Number: RES
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2020
Title: Pittsburgh Girls Study: Substance Use and HIV Risk Behaviors/STI in Young Adulthood
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: R01 DA012237
Start Year: 2016
End Year: 2022
Title: University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Workplace Development)
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Grant Number: UL1 TR001857
Start Year: 2016
End Year: 2021
Title: The University of Pittsburgh PCOR Career Development Program
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Grant Number: K12 HS022989
Start Year: 2014
End Year: 2019
Notable Achievements
Women’s Health Presentation Award for the highest-rated, peer-reviewed poster abstract, SGIM Annual Meeting, 2010
Women’s Health Presentation Award for the highest-rated, peer-reviewed oral abstract presentation, SGIM Annual Meeting, 2013
Secretary, Board of Directors, Society of Family Planning, 2013
Best Poster Abstract Award, 1st place, North American Forum on Family Planning Annual Meeting, 2013
Excellence in Medical Student Research Mentoring Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2014
Member, Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee, 2018
Distinguished Research Mentor Award, Institute for Clinical Research and Education (ICRE), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine., 2018
SGIM Midcareer Research Mentoring Award, 2019