Jonathan Jay
Profiles

Jonathan S Jay, DrPH, JD

Associate Professor, Community Health Sciences - Boston University School of Public Health

(617) 358-1771
jonjay@bu.edu
Crosstown Center
View Full Profile at BUMC

Biography

Dr. Jonathan Jay studies community firearm violence and health inequities as an associate professor of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health. He works at the intersection of epidemiology, data science, and community-engaged research to understand the social determinants of violence and to identify effective, equitable strategies for prevention. His research examines topics including racial and spatial disparities in youth firearm injuries, the built environment, afterschool violence risk, and the effectiveness of community- and hospital-based violence intervention programs.

Dr. Jay leads federally and philanthropically funded studies of structural and programmatic approaches to violence prevention. His recent work includes a target trial emulation finding that participation in a Boston hospital-based violence intervention program reduced subsequent violence, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, and a quasi-experimental study identifying school dismissal as a period of heightened firearm assault risk for children. He is principal investigator of an NIH K01 award focused on addressing structural factors to reduce firearm injuries among Black and Latinx youth and leads additional research developed in partnership with violence intervention practitioners and community organizations.

Before receiving his doctorate in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Dr. Jay trained as a lawyer and ethicist and worked in global health policy. He received a BA with honors from Brown University, a JD cum laude and an MA in philosophy from Georgetown University, and a DrPH from Harvard.

Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health

Education

  • Harvard University, DPH/DrPH Field of Study: Public Health
  • Georgetown University, JD Field of Study: Law
  • Georgetown University, MA Field of Study: Philosophy

Websites

Classes Taught

  • SPHSB820

Publications

  • Published on 1/27/2026

    Jay J, Pino E, Georges M, Courtepatte A, Harris J, Gause E, Abaya R, Rothman EF, Goldstick J. Effects of a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program on Community Violence in Boston, Massachusetts : A Target Trial Emulation. Ann Intern Med. 2026 Mar; 179(3):372-381. PMID: 41587478.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 1/8/2026

    McLone SG, Coleman CM, Matzke HJ, Fox MP, Jay JS. Losing sleep? The effects of exposure to shootings near one's residence on self-reported sleep quantity in Chicago, 2020-2021. Am J Epidemiol. 2026 Jan 08; 195(1):135-142. PMID: 39960271.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/30/2025

    Gause EL, McLone S, Myers D, Rick C, Rajan S, Glymour MM, Jay J. Afterschool Child Firearm Assaults: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis. AJPM Focus. 2026 Apr; 5(2):100463. PMID: 41694322.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/24/2025

    Gause EL, McLone S, Dalton C, Morrison C, Jay J. Vehicle traffic as a determinant of community firearm violence. Inj Epidemiol. 2025 Oct 24; 12(1):70. PMID: 41137156.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 10/13/2025

    Joseph PL, Jay J. Summer Youth Employment Programs as a Structural Approach to Prevent Youth Violence: an Integrative Review. Prev Sci. 2025 Oct 13. PMID: 41082080.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 8/7/2025

    Lin Z, Wellenius GA, Jay J. Examining associations between street vegetation and child firearm violence at microgeographic locations in 3 US cities: a case-control study. BMC Pediatr. 2025 Aug 07; 25(1):605. PMID: 40775757.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 5/1/2025

    Jay J, Joseph PL, Goldstick JE. Age-Specific Trends in Pediatric and Adult Firearm Homicide After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Pediatr. 2025 May 01; 179(5):577-579. PMID: 40126468.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 4/1/2025

    Georges MR, Courtepatte A, Hibara A, Harris J, Beckford T, Wiley D, Weinberger E, Rudel R, Dugan E, Jay J, Pino EC. Health Care Practitioner Bias and Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Services Among Survivors of Violence. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Apr 01; 8(4):e254074. PMID: 40198068.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/24/2025

    Shareef F, Gause EL, McLone S, Gebo E, Jay J. Spatial de-concentration of fatal and nonfatal firearm violence in Boston, MA, 2007-2021. Inj Epidemiol. 2025 Mar 24; 12(1):18. PMID: 40128917.

     Read At: PubMed
  • Published on 3/1/2025

    McCord K, Gause EL, McLone S, Bard H, Gilson T, Jay J. Algorithm development for the automation of death certificate analysis and coding. Ann Epidemiol. 2025 Apr; 104:15-20. PMID: 40032194.

     Read At: PubMed

View 45 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC

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