Danielle Bessett

Danielle Bessett is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati, affiliated with the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program. She directs the Kunz Center for Social Research and contributes to the Medical Scientist Training Program in UC’s College of Medicine. Her research focuses on reproductive health disparities, abortion access, and healthcare equity, supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and private organizations. Bessett holds a PhD from New York University and has received accolades including the Society of Family Planning’s Mentor Award (2021) and UC’s Faculty Excellence Award (2021).

Education: BA from Mount Holyoke College, MA and PhD from New York University.

Research interests include abortion care experiences, contraceptive access, infant mortality, and the intersection of policy and reproductive equity. She co-leads the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network (OPEN), analyzing state policies affecting reproductive health. Her work spans qualitative methods, medical sociology, and gender studies. Recent articles explore post-Dobbs abortion service delivery, self-managed abortion awareness, and disparities in abortion care challenges.

Grants and awards include over $700k in funding for projects like OPEN’s policy evaluations and studies on sex educators’ autonomy. Her books include Pregnant with Possibilities (NYU Press) and Ohio Under Covid (forthcoming). Bessett has served on leadership boards for the Society of Family Planning and the American Sociological Association’s Medical Sociology section.

Labs/Teams: Director of the Kunz Center; co-founder of OPEN; collaborator in interdisciplinary health policy research.