Dr. Daniel Jacobson López Joins BUSSW as Assistant Professor
Daniel Jacobson López, PhD, has been appointed assistant professor at Boston University School of Social Work, beginning July 1, 2021.
Jacobson López, an expert in trauma, brings his innovative research on marginalized identities to BUSSW – specifically examining how possessing multiple marginalized identities affects the ways in which socio-political institutions and systems engage with gay Latino and/or Black sexual assault survivors and the services provided to them. He is currently a T32 postdoctoral associate in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at Pitt’s Graduate School of Public Health and a CEED diversity scholar at the Institute for Clinical Research Education and the Clinical and Translation Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh. His primary research focuses on the sexual assault of gay Latino and/or Black male sexual assault survivors. He also researches violence against gay Black and Latino men, LGBTQ individuals and, recently, the effects of COVID-19 on people living with HIV/AIDS, focusing on the effects of racism (including anti-Black racism), homophobia, and xenophobia on the sexual assault reporting process and service provision for gay Latino and/or Black men of color.
“I am thrilled to be joining the renowned faculty at Boston University School of Social Work under the distinguished leadership of Dean Delva,” says Jacobson López. “BUSSW has long served as a paragon of social work excellence in the nation.”
“I am particularly excited,” he adds, “about the possibility of contributing to the various projects at [BUSSW’s] Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health that are focused on integrating public health and social justice initiatives into practice on a global scale. Boston University’s commitment to diversity and its accompanying infrastructure to support such initiatives is a perfect fit for advancing my research on enhancing health care services for gay Black and Latino sexual assault survivors, which has far too often been ignored in research and practice. It is my sincere hope that I will be able to substantially contribute towards furthering BUSSW’s dedication to social justice.”
In 2019, Jacobson López was the first ever Latinx PhD graduate at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. He is also the founder of the first Latinx graduate student group at the University of Pittsburgh, established in 2015. In 2020, he was appointed the first ever chair of diversity and inclusion for the University of Pittsburgh Postdoctoral Association.
BU School of Social Work Dean Jorge Delva says, “I am thrilled that Dr. Jacobson López has joined our School. His exceptional research and expertise on trauma and violence against Latinx and Black LGBTQ populations, theoretical knowledge, advocacy for students of color, and practice skills will help advance knowledge and policies to improve the lives of populations most impacted by racism, homophobia, transphobia, and xenophobia.”
Jacobson López was previously an intern with the United Nations, where he developed a small set of indicators for the global LGBTI inclusion index, with a specific focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a doctoral minority fellow alumnus at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and a Schweitzer fellow alumnus. He has won awards from Black Men at Penn and the Center for Hispanic Excellence for his leadership and advocacy for Black and Latino students from the University of Pennsylvania. Jacobson López has conducted research in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, the Graduate School of Public Health and the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. His dissertation, “El Proceso: Understanding Barriers and Facilitators to Reporting Sexual Assault Among Gay Latino Men” won the annual dissertation award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.
In addition to his scholarship and research, Jacobson López is a certified sexual assault counselor, a licensed social worker, and an anti-bias facilitator with the Anti-Defamation League. He has a PhD certificate in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and is completing a business certification from the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and BA from Skidmore College.