Jessica Fish
Associate Professor, Behavioral and Community Health
Co-Director, UMD Prevention Research Center
Faculty Affiliate, Maryland Population Research Center
Dr. Jessica Fish is a human development and family science scholar whose research focuses on the positive development and health of LGBTQ+ people and their families.
Areas of Interest
Core FacultyLGBTQ+ health equity; LGBTQ+ youth development; LGBTQ+ people in families; Substance use; Mental health; Prevention; Policy
Dr. Jessica Fish is a human development and family science scholar whose research focuses on the health and well-being of sexual and gender minority (i.e., lesbian/gay, bisexual, and transgender) people and their families.
Broadly, Dr. Fish studies the social and interpersonal factors that shape the development and health of sexual and gender minority youth and adults. Her overarching goal is to identify modifiable factors that contribute to sexual and gender minority health disparities in order to inform developmentally-sensitive policies, programs and prevention strategies that promote the health of sexual and gender minority people across the life course.
Dr. Fish will accept PhD advisees for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Ph.D., Family and Child Sciences: Specialization in Family Relations from Florida State University
M.S., Child Development and Family Studies: Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy from Purdue University Calumet
B.S., Family Studies and Psychology from Central Michigan University
FMSC 302 Research Methods in Family Science
FMSC 432 Adult Development and Aging in Families
FMSC 820 Advanced Quantitative Methods in Family Science
2024 John B. Reid Early Career Award, Society for Prevention Research
2023 University of Maryland Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award
2022 National Institutes of Health, Sexual & Gender Minority Early-Stage Investigator Award
2022 Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health (Gamma Zeta Chapter) Induction
2022 The 2021 Rosalind Franklin Society/Mary Ann Liebert Award in Science, Annual award for the best paper by a woman/under-represented minority
2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Planning Committee for the Reducing Inequalities Between LGBTQ Adolescents and Cisgender, Heterosexual Adolescents Workshop
2020 Lavender Leadership Honor Society, University of Maryland
2019 Cindy Winter Scholarship Award, Student or New Professional Leadership/Service in Family Science, National Council on Family Relations
2017 Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) Trainee, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institute of Health
2017 Abstract of Distinction, Society for Prevention Research
2014 Families and Health Section Outstanding Student/New Professional Paper Award, National Council on Family Relations
2014 Hortense Glenn Society (scholarship, leadership, and service), Florida State University
2013 May Watson Conner Scholarship, Florida State University
2012 Robison Scholarship, Florida State University
2011 Family Therapy Section Best Poster Award (Student), National Council on Family Relations
2011 Completed Thesis Award, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
2010 Graduate Student Research Award, Indiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
You can review my list of publicaitons on Google Scholar.
Please contact me if you are having trouble accessing a particular publication.