Portrait of McClain Sampson

McClain Sampson

Fellow in Maternal and Reproductive Health

Biography

McClain Sampson, Ph.D., joined the Baker Institute in January 2023 as a fellow in maternal and reproductive health at the Center for Health and Biosciences. Sampson holds a dual appointment at the University of Houston’s (UH) Graduate College of Social Work, where she oversees the Healthy Start Initiative and the GLOBE Team Training programs. Sampsons research portfolio includes the implementation and evaluation of a community-based program to reduce the risk of infant and maternal mortality, the assessment of a home visiting intervention for postpartum depression among low-income mothers, a feasibility and effectiveness study of a maternal medical home model in federally qualified health centers, and the evaluation of inter-professional health teams for behavioral health service delivery by social work and psychology students. 

Sampson has been featured in the Houston Chronicle, KUHF Town Square and UH Moment for her expertise in community and academic partnerships and her efforts to improve perinatal health for women most at risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Sampson taught Qualitative Research Methods and Behavioral Health in Integrated Healthcare Settings at UH and provides workshops in motivational interviewing. 

Sampson completed her postdoctoral research fellowship with the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, where she worked to reduce the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancy among low-income women in Harris Health-integrated health care centers. She received a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in social work from the University of Tennessee. 

Contact at McClain.Sampson@rice.edu or 512-241-9464.