
Jennifer J Beard, PhD, MPH, MA
Clinical Associate Professor, Global Health - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
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.
Education
- University of New Hampshire, PhD Field of Study: English Literature
- Boston University, MPH Field of Study: International Health
- Ohio University, MA Field of Study: English Literature
- Youngstown State University, BA Field of Study: English Literature
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHGH765
- SPHPH720
Publications
- Published on 12/10/2024
Fortunato EK, Dolan CA, Beard J, et al. .. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/23733799241301867. Balancing Faculty Autonomy with Collaboration, Course Updates, and Consistency in Core Courses: Recommendations for Teaching Teams and Administrators of Schools and Programs of Public Health. Pedagogy in Health Promotion. 2024.
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- Published on 12/3/2024
Beard Jennifer. The Idea of a Good Daughter. Health Affairs. 2024; 12(43):1728-1732.
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- Published on 11/1/2024
Das S, Neupane R, Beard J, Solomon H, Das M, Errickson N, Simon JL, Nisar YB, MacLeod WB, Hamer DH. Aetiology of diarrhoea in children aged zero to nine years in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. J Glob Health. 2024 Nov 1;14:04168. doi: 10.7189/jogh.14.04168. PMID: 39485019; PMCID: PMC11529147. Aetiology of diarrhoea in children aged zero to nine years in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. J Glob Health. 2024; 04168(14).
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- Published on 11/1/2024
Das S, Neupane R, Beard J, Solomon H, Das M, Errickson N, Simon JL, Nisar YB, MacLeod WB, Hamer DH. Aetiology of diarrhoea in children aged zero to nine years in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review. J Glob Health. 2024 Nov 01; 14:04168. PMID: 39485019.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/10/2023
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.
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- Published on 7/21/2023
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. PMID: 37475599.
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- Published on 7/13/2023
Beard Jennifer. Families make us who we are. What remains after they’re gone?. Cognoscenti. 2023.
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- Published on 4/3/2023
Wang ML, Britton OJ, Beard J. The call for science communication and public scholarship. Transl Behav Med. 2023 Apr 03; 13(3):156-159. PMID: 36525596.
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- Published on 8/30/2022
Jennifer Beard. Teaching Public Health. Teaching Public Health Writing. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. 2022; 176.
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- Published on 8/3/2022
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. PMID: 35916658.
Read At: PubMed
View 60 more publications:View Full Profile at BUMC
News & In the Media
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Published on December 7, 2024
A Caregiving Chasm: Professor Reflects on the Shortcomings of the US Healthcare System
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Published on October 3, 2024
Writing is Hard. The Public Health Writing Program Is Here to Help
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Published on August 24, 2024
Public Health Post: Reflecting on 9 Years Training Public Health Communicators
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Published on June 22, 2024
The Domino Effects of Intergenerational Relationships Among Boston’s Residents
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Published on July 13, 2023
Families Make Us Who We Are. What Remains after They’re Gone?
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Published on September 15, 2022
New Book Series to Offer Integrative Approach to Public Health Teaching
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Published on August 18, 2022
Professor’s New Book Centers Writing in Public Health Practice
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Published on July 11, 2022
Over 30 Years Ago, She Read Billboard: ‘Pregnant? We Can Help.’ Then She Took the Wrong Turn.
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Published on August 18, 2021
Writing Is Hard. The Public Health Writing Program Is Here to Help
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Published on January 14, 2021
Behavioral Medicine Experts Have a Vital Role in the COVID Era
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Published on January 5, 2021
Top 10 of 2020: Liberty Firefighter Death Prompts Investigation
- Published on September 3, 2020
- Published on July 27, 2020
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Published on July 8, 2020
Looking for the Mothers: Grief Counselors in Zambia Trying to Connect with Bereaved Parents
- Published on July 6, 2020
- Published on January 10, 2020
- Published on November 4, 2019
- Published on May 22, 2018
- Published on March 23, 2018
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Published on January 11, 2018
Abuse During Pregnancy Associated with Both Antenatal and Postnatal Depression
- Published on November 8, 2017
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Published on November 6, 2016
Avoiding Death on the Highway and Other Public Health Benefits of Clear Writing
- Published on November 3, 2016
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Published on July 7, 2016
For Sex Workers, Alumna Shows Decriminalization Improves Health
- Published on June 7, 2016
- Published on April 21, 2016
- Published on April 13, 2016
- Published on February 16, 2016
- Published on October 28, 2015
- Published on October 30, 2014