Jessica Dimka

Jessica Dimka, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Seton Hall University, specializing in biological anthropology with a focus on health disparities and epidemic dynamics. She holds academic affiliations with the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Seton Hall and previously co-led the Centre for Research on Pandemics & Society at Oslo Metropolitan University.

Education:

• PhD in Anthropology (University of Missouri)
• MA in Anthropology (California State University, Chico)
• BS in Anthropology (University of Wisconsin)

Research Interests: Her work investigates the intersection of social, cultural, and biological factors influencing health outcomes during epidemics and pandemics. Key areas include disability-inclusive pandemic preparedness, historical disease spread patterns, and the role of institutionalized populations in disease transmission. She employs agent-based modeling, ethnographic data, and historical analysis to address these questions.

Grant Funding:

• Principal Investigator (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellowship, 2019–2021)
• Seton Hall University Research Council Grant (2024–2025)

Lab/Team: Her research group focuses on interdisciplinary pandemic studies, integrating biological anthropology with epidemiological modeling and historical analysis.