Jessie Ford

Jessie Ford is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, where her work bridges sociological theory and public health practice to address health disparities through the lens of social forces like stigma and inequality.

Her research prioritizes sexual health outcomes among stigmatized populations, with expertise in structural stigma, bisexual women's health risks, alcohol-related sexual assault, and the global relevance of sexual pleasure. She employs mixed-methods approaches to analyze multi-level determinants (individual, interpersonal, structural) of health disparities, emphasizing how mundane social interactions—such as conflict avoidance or gender performance—profoundly impact sexual health.

Scientific Awards

• NIAAA K01 Career Development Award for research on bisexual women's sexual assault and hazardous drinking

Dr. Ford leads an NIAAA-funded K01 study examining intersections of hazardous drinking and sexual assault among bisexual women using unique datasets and multi-level analysis, while collaborating on an NIMH-funded longitudinal project (PI: Mark Hatzenbuehler) tracking structural stigma and HIV among gay/bisexual men through 5 survey waves and qualitative interviews. She actively supports the World Association for Sexual Health's Declaration on Sexual Pleasure as an Associate Editor for a special journal issue, translating research into policy frameworks. In mentoring, she cultivates critical questioning and data-driven intervention design by integrating her fieldwork into classroom pedagogy, fostering collaborative reinterpretations of public health theory.

An avid cyclist, she commutes by bike from Brooklyn to campus and previously organized a 2000-mile charity ride from southern China to Cambodia with Save the Children, raising funds to build a school in Gansu province, China.