Syeda Jesmin

Syeda S. Jesmin, a medical sociologist/social epidemiologist, is an Associate Professor of Sociology with a joint appointment in Public Health. Her scholarly interests center on policy-relevant research in social determinants of health and health disparities. Her goal is to conduct research that will inform policy makers to better serve disadvantaged communities, at-risk populations, and racial and ethnic minorities. Her research is focused on the production of new knowledge that could be useful to promote health and wellbeing at local, national, and international levels. She is the recipient of many awards including Substance Abuse and Mental Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) MHAT ($625,000) and GLS ($303,000) grant awards. Dr. Jesmin is currently leading a program HOPE to implement a mental health awareness training program in southern Dallas communities. With a recently completed grant award, she led a program STRONG to prevent suicide. Her work has appeared in Substance Use & Misuse, Archives of Sexual Behavior, Aggressive Behavior, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Violence and Victims, Culture, Health & Sexuality, Women & Health, Health Care for Women International, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, Educational Gerontology, and several other peer-reviewed journals. Along with new course development and consistently high teaching evaluations, Dr. Jesmin is rated excellent in the area of teaching. Dr. Jesmin believes that she has social accountability and civic responsibility to engage with the community on issues of public relevance. Her scholarly achievements resulted in invitations to give academic talks and interviews with the media.