Wells, Jessica

Jessica Wells, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, FAAN (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She received her undergraduate degree in nursing from Howard University in 2006. She earned a PhD in Nursing along with a graduate certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the Laney Graduate School of Emory University in 2012. Dr. Wells then completed a postdoctoral fellowship from Emory University in 2015.

Dr. Wells’ research contributions include promoting cancer prevention strategies in the vulnerable and at-risk HIV population. Her program of research is novel and is at the forefront of an emerging public health problem—an aging HIV population who is increasingly dying from HPV-related cancers. Dr. Wells has unique expertise in leading innovative research that integrates cancer science and HIV science. Her research has been funded by national and federal agencies to promote cancer prevention strategies among people living with HIV including funding from National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Woodruff Health Science Institute, and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Dr. Wells is currently the Principal Investigator on a recently funded R01 study that aims to tailor and implement an evidence-based, multi-level intervention to promote HPV vaccination among people living with HIV.

Dr. Wells is the recipient of the 2021 Barbara Vicks Impact in HIV Research award presented by Emory University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Community Liaison Council. In 2021, Dr. Wells was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She is a member of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) where she serves as membership chair for the local chapter and serves on the research committee for the national chapter. Dr. Wells is also a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute, co-chair of the HIV and malignancies working group at Emory University CFAR, and member of the Advocacy and Campaign committee at the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS).

Dr. Wells is committed to performing research and outreach to improve cancer prevention strategies and HPV awareness among high-risk and vulnerable populations. Along with this commitment, Dr. Wells practices as a board-certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at the Center for Black Women’s Wellness in Atlanta, GA.