Jennifer Beard, PhD, MPH, MA
Clinical Associate Professor
Boston University School of Public Health
Global Health

PhD, University of New Hampshire
MPH, Boston University
MA, Ohio University
BA, Youngstown State University



Jennifer Beard, PhD, MA, MPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health at Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Beard started her academic life in the humanities, completing her BA in English literature at Youngstown State University, her MA at Ohio University with a focus on Victorian literature, and her PhD at the University of New Hampshire specializing in twentieth-century British women writers. While she has been working in public health for two decades, she remains a devoted reader of novels and believes that her global health teaching and research interests are rooted in her passion for Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters, and Barbara Pym.

Dr. Beard brings her love of language and compelling stories into all of her public health work. She developed and leads the BUSPH Public Health Writing Program and is the author of Teaching Public Health Writing (Oxford University Press, 2022). She co-founded the BU Program for Global Health Storytelling – a collaboration between BUSPH, the BU College of Communication, and the Pulitzer Center. She co-directs the BUMC Narrative Writing Program, which provides faculty researchers and clinicians with the opportunity and support to explore the power of narrative writing.

She is the associate editor of Public Health Post, where she mentors student writing fellows and expert guest authors to translate and broaden the reach of their research. Her approach to editing and mentoring focuses on engaging readers by shortening their sentences, clarifying key points with vivid details, and eliminating (or at least reducing) technical jargon. And she is partnering with colleagues at Mälardalen University in Sweden to cultivate a global public health writing community.

Her scholarship and teaching explore the intersection between population health, the arts and humanities, and journalism. She developed and teaches courses in global mental health and global health journalism and is always looking for ways to incorporate fiction and creative non-fiction into her courses.

Dr. Beard oversaw a 9-study qualitative research project in Kumasi, Ghana focused on key populations at high risk for HIV in collaboration with colleagues at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and at BUSPH. That work is still bearing fruit, particularly concerning harm reduction policies and programs for people who use drugs. The KNUST-BUSPH team also completed studies on young female sex workers and their intimate partners and men who have sex with men.


BU Draper Fellowship - Aisling McEleney
09/01/2020 - 05/31/2022 (PI)
Draper Laboratory, Inc.


Research Activities Among Most at Risk Population(Ghana MARPS)
10/01/2010 - 07/31/2014 (PI)
U.S. Agency for International Development




Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Beard Jennifer, Wang Monica L. Rebuilding Public Trust in Science. The Brink. 2023. View Publication
  2. Taborda C, Sofer N, Beard J, Wang M. Identifying and dismantling racist narratives to promote health equity. HPHR. 2023;72. https://www.doi.org/10.54111/0001/TTT3 . Identifying and dismantling racist narratives to promote health equity. 2023. View Publication
  3. Neupane R, Bhathena M, Das G, Long E, Beard J, Solomon H, Simon JL, Nisar YB, MacLeod WB, Hamer DH. Antibiotic resistance trends for common bacterial aetiologies of childhood diarrhoea in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. J Glob Health. 2023 Jul 21; 13:04060.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37475599; PMCID: PMC10359834; DOI: 10.7189/jogh.13.04060;
     
  4. Beard Jennifer. Families make us who we are. What remains after they’re gone?. Cognoscenti. 2023. View Publication
  5. Wang ML, Britton OJ, Beard J. The call for science communication and public scholarship. Transl Behav Med. 2023 Apr 03; 13(3):156-159.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36525596; PMCID: PMC10068900; DOI: 10.1093/tbm/ibac096;
     
  6. Jennifer Beard. Teaching Public Health. Teaching Public Health Writing. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. 2022; 176. View Publication
  7. Hamer DH, Solomon H, Das G, Knabe T, Beard J, Simon J, Nisar YB, MacLeod WB. Importance of breastfeeding and complementary feeding for management and prevention of childhood diarrhoea in low- and middle-income countries. J Glob Health. 2022 Aug 03; 12:10011.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35916658; PMCID: PMC9344980; DOI: 10.7189/jogh.12.10011;
     
  8. Tenzin K, Sabin LL, Wangchuk W, Choden K, Feeley F, Zam S, Halim N, Banigbe B, Letho Z, George ER, Yangden K, Beard J, West R, Dorji G. 2022. . 22: 7298. . Early impact of the PEN HEARTS package to manage noncommunicable diseases in Bhutan: a mixed-methods evaluation. Rural and Remote Health. 2022; 22(7298). View Publication
  9. Jennifer Beard. Over 30 years ago, she read billboard: ‘Pregnant? We can help.’ Then she took the wrong turn. Boston Globe. 2022. View Publication
  10. Remein CD, Childs E, Beard J, Demers LB, Benjamin EJ, Wingerter SL. "Getting Started": A Pilot Introductory Narrative Writing Session for Interprofessional Faculty in Academic Health Sciences. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2022; 13:265-274.View Related Profiles. PMID: 35313635; PMCID: PMC8934153; DOI: 10.2147/AMEP.S350246;
     
Showing 10 of 67 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 64 publications over 16 distinct years, with a maximum of 9 publications in 2018 and 2020

YearPublications
20031
20054
20081
20093
20105
20123
20133
20155
20165
20174
20189
20191
20209
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20225
20235


Rebuilding Public Trust in Science

BU Today 10/19/2023

2019-2020 Boston University Medical Campus: Mid-Career Faculty Leadership Program
2018-2019 Boston University Medical Campus: Narrative Writing Program
In addition to these self-described keywords below, a list of MeSH based concepts is available here.

public health writing
global health storytelling
public health humanities
public health journalism
global mental health
key populations
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801 Massachusetts Ave Crosstown Center
Boston MA 02118
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