Laurie Ray, DNP, APRN, WHNP-BC (she/her) has been providing gender-inclusive sexual and reproductive health care for more than 13 years. Currently she is the Specialty Director for the Women’s Health/Gender-Related Nurse Practitioner program and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Emory University, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing.

Laurie practices at Planned Parenthood Southeast where she also serves as the Colposcopy Program Director. Laurie previously worked on first-in-human clinical trials involving vaginal rings and gels for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and on a clinical trial studying treatment of early pregnancy loss. Previously, as a Quality Assurance Clinician Consultant for the National Abortion Federation, she helped to ensure that clinics across the country are providing high-quality abortion care.

Laurie has been engaged in amplifying the voice and expertise of WHNPs through her involvement with the Society of Family Planning Clinical Affairs Committee and the NPWH Advocacy Committee.

Laurie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Women’s Studies and Chemistry from Emory University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner from the Columbia University School of Nursing, and then returned to Emory to complete her DNP. She was chosen as one of the Emory Alumni Association’s 40 under Forty award recipients in 2024 and for Columbia University School of Nursing Alumni Association’s Emerging Nurse Leader Award in 2025.

1. Ray, L. (2023). Self-managed medication abortion: What nurse practitioners need to know. Women’s Healthcare: A Clinical Journal for NPs, 11(3): 26-31.

2. Teleshova, N., Keller, M. J., Fernandez-Romero, J. A., Friedland, B. A., Creasy, G. W., Plagianos, M. G., Ray, L., Barnable, P., Kizima, L., Rodriguez, A., Cornejal, N., Melo, C., Cruz Rodriguez, G., Mukhopadhyay, S., Calenda, G., Sinkar, S. U., Bonnaire, T., Wesenberg, A., Zhang, S., … Zydowsky, T. M. (2022). Results of a phase 1, randomized, placebo-controlled first-in-human trial of griffithsin formulated in a carrageenan vaginal gel. PLOS One, 17(1):e0261775.

3. Serebrenik, J. S., Wang, T., Hunte, R., Srinivasan. S., McWalters, J., Tharp, G. K., Bosinger, S. E., Fiedler, T. L., Atrio, J. M., Murphy, K., Barnett, R., Ray, L., Krows, M. L., Fredricks, D. N., Irungu, E., Ngure, K., Mugo, N., Marrazzo, J., Keller, M. J., & Herold, B. C. (2021). Differences in vaginal microbiota, host transcriptome and proteins in women with bacterial vaginosis are associated with metronidazole treatment response. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 224(12):2094-2104.

4. Dobkin, A., McWalters, J., Barnett, R., Ray, L. L., Espinoza, L., McGinn, A. P., Atrio, J. M., & Keller, M. J. (2020). Acceptability of a tenofovir disoproxil fumurate intravaginal ring for human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis among sexually active women. Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 47(12):819-824.

5. Keller, M. J., Wood, L., Billingsley, J. M., Ray, L. L., Goymer, J., Sinclair, S. McGinn, A. P., Marzinke, M. A., Frank, B., Srinivasan, S., Liu, C., Atrio, J. M., Espinoza, L., Mugo, N., Spiegel, H. M. L., Anderson, P. L., Fredricks, D. N., Hendrix, C. W., Marrazzo, J., … Herold, B. C. (2019). Tenofovir disoproxil fumurate intravaginal ring for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in sexually active women: a phase 1, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial. Lancet HIV, 6(8):e498-508.

6. Benfield, N., Hawkins, F., Ray, L., McGowan, A., Floyd, K., Africa, D., Barreto, M., & Levi, E. (2019). Exposure to routine availability of immediate postpartum LARC: effect on attitudes and practices of labor and delivery and postpartum nurses. Contraception, 7(5):411-414.

7. Reid, G.K., Berardinelli, A.J., Ray L, Jackson, A. R., Neish, A. S., Hansen, J. M., & Denning, P. W. (2017). Timing of developmental reduction in epithelial glutathione redox potential is associated with increased epithelial proliferation in the immature murine intestine. Pediatric Research, 82(2):362-369.

8. Ray, L. L., & McEneaney, M. J. (2014). Caring for survivors of sexual violence: a guide for primary care NPs. Women’s Healthcare: A Clinical Journal for NPs., 2(2):42-9.

9. Qurashi, A., Liu, H., Ray L., Nelson, D. L., Duan, R., & Jin, P. (2012). Chemical screen reveals small molecules suppressing fragile X premutation rCGG repeat-mediated neurodegeneration in Drosophila. Human Molecular Genetics, 21(9):2068-2075.

10. Lin, P. W., Myers, L. E., Ray, L., Song, S. C., Nasr, T. R., Berardinelli, A. J., Kundu, K., Murthy, N., Hansen, J. M., & Neish, A. S. (2009). Lactobacillus rhamnosus blocks inflammatory signaling in vivo via reactive oxygen species generation. Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 47(8):1205-1211.

• 2025: Early Career Alumni Award: Columbia University School of Nursing Emerging Nurse Leader Alumni Association
• 2024: 40 Under Forty Emory Alumni Association
• 2023-2024: CFDE Course Design and Pedagogy Fellow Center for Faculty Development and Excellence, Emory University