Dr. Jessica Gipson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Dr. Gipson received her M.P.H. from the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and her Ph.D. in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research examines reproductive health in low-socioeconomic areas. Dr. Gipson has also published articles on reproductive and sexual health in the Philippines which evaluated how intergenerational relationships influence women's fertility.

What led you to pursue a career in global health?

 I was always interested in health, medicine and how different perspectives and cultural beliefs influence health. During my undergraduate studies at UCLA, I became interested in working outside of the U.S.–I wanted to understand how history, politics, culture, and societal norms influence health behavior. I felt that it was a really interesting component of medicine that I was unable to explore in my biology classes. To further explore my interest, I did a study abroad program (as an undergrad at UCLA) at the UNAM extension in Taxco, Mexico. I was also fortunate enough to conduct an independent study project on gender and health as an undergrad with mentorship from Dr. Carole Browner (UCLA Anthropology), an experience that was a key stepping-stone for me in deciding to work in global health.

What was your most fascinating public health discovery?

It has been fascinating to me to see that, across all of the places I’ve worked and lived, that we as humans are generally much more alike than we are different. It seems that we are all just trying to create the best lives for ourselves and our families in the ways that we know how and in the ways we are able, given our circumstances.

What classes do you currently teach?

I have taught CHS 200 (Introduction to Global Health), CHS 211A (Program Planning and Evaluation), CHS 296 (Mixed Methods Research and CHS 431 (Foundations in Reproductive Health), and CHS 247 (Population Change and Public Policy) This year I am teaching CHS 200 and CHS 431.

What research opportunities that you focus on are available?

I currently don’t have any openings, but I always encourage students to reach out if they have overlapping interests.

Do you have any advice for current UCLA MPH candidates who are interested in pursuing a career in global health?

• First - get outside the classroom and participate in global health work - whether it’s during school breaks, through internships, over the summer, etc. I was a Peace Corps Volunteer (in the Dominican Republic). That is one route, but certainly not the only route, students can take.
• Second, I think it can be really beneficial to have community-level experience, not just working in an office in a big city.
• Third, in contrast to peppering your resume/CV with numerous, short-term experiences, I think it is really important to have in-depth, long-standing mentorship and learning experiences. This allows you to develop relationships, skills, and sustained interaction with projects and people that can only happen with more long-term involvement.Generally, I think having multidisciplinary training, a willingness to take reasonable risks, and a dedication to learning more about other cultures and languages will facilitate richer and more enjoyable global health experiences.
• Last, I think it’s important to remember that, especially in a city like Los Angeles, you don’t need to leave the city to do global health work—and many of the skills you learn doing this kind of work are directly transferable to working in other country contexts.