The Ellipses of Katherine Ch'iu Hinton reveals the human side of completing research and managing programs in China, Kenya and Mongolia. Hinton, trained in epidemiology, spent over twenty years working overseas; first, testing the safety and effectiveness of a male contraceptive drug on volunteers in Beijing, and secondly, carrying out an HIV prevention study among prostitutes in Nairobi. Her UNICEF assignment engaged her in poverty alleviation work, specifically maternal and child health, girl's education, income-generating for poor rural women, safe drinking water, sanitation, and iodine eradication, in China's ten outlaying provinces (Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Honan, Shaanxi, Anhui, Qinghai, and Gansu), as well as in Mongolia. While the scientific side of her research has been published in various professional journals, the author now recounts her experiences in narrative form.