Skip to Main Content

Jessica Lewis, PhD, LMFT

Research Scientist; Deputy Director, Center for Community Engagement and Health Equity, Yale Cancer Center; Board Member, Dean's Advisory Council for LGBTQI+ Affairs, Yale University; Co-Founder, Expect With Me, CDE

Contact Information

Jessica Lewis, PhD, LMFT

Office Location

Research Summary

Jessica Lewis, Ph.D., MFT (she/her/hers) is a Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine and a licensed family therapist. Dr. Lewis has directed research projects on health behaviors, health equity, and women’s sexual, reproductive, and mental health at Yale for more than 27 years. Her research investigates the interplay of complex biomedical, behavioral, social, and psychological factors that influence individual and family health. She uses this lens to examine challenges faced by those often marginalized by the health care system and by society.

Extensive Research Description

Jessica Lewis, Ph.D., MFT (she/her/hers) is a Research Scientist at the Yale School of Medicine and Deputy Director for the Center for Community Engagement and Health Equity at the Yale Cancer Center. Additionally, Dr. Lewis is a licensed family therapist. Dr. Lewis has directed research on health behaviors, health equity, and women’s sexual, reproductive, and mental health at Yale for more than 27 years. Her research investigates the interplay of complex biomedical, behavioral, social, and structural factors that influence individual and family health. She uses this lens to examine challenges faced by those often marginalized by the health care system and by society.

Dr. Lewis serves as Deputy Director for the Center for Community Engagement and Health Equity at the Yale Cancer Center, where she seeks to build infrastructure to elevate scholarship on cancer disparities and ensure Yale cancer research is responsive to community needs across CT. Dr. Lewis is co-founder of Expect With Me, a technology-enabled group model of prenatal care, which has been demonstrated to significantly improve maternal-child health outcomes. Dr. Lewis has extensive experience directing large multi-site research projects with methodological rigor and cultural sensitivity. Dr. Lewis is interested in multi-level social and structural determinants of health and wellness and bringing health innovations to scale through creative transdisciplinary, multi-sector partnerships. Dr. Lewis is an author of 70 peer-reviewed publications.

Coauthors

Research Interests

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms; Social Sciences; Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation; Health Status Disparities; Healthcare Disparities

Public Health Interests

Behavioral Health; Breastfeeding; Cancer; Health Care Management; Health Policy; HIV/AIDS; Maternal & Child Health; Mental Health; Poverty and Economic Security; Reproduction; Sexually-Transmitted Infections; Women's Health; Child/Adolescent Health; Health Equity, Disparities, Social Determinants and Justice; Health Systems Reform; Perinatal/Prenatal Health

Research Image

Selected Publications