Jennifer M. Jester

Associate Research Scientist, School of Social Work, and LEO Adjunct Lecturer

Dr. Jester earned her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

For the last seven years, she was an Associate Research Scientist at Zero to Thrive in the Department of Psychiatry. She evaluated the effects of interventions for young children and families using linear mixed modeling, survival analysis and Bayesian analysis. She has also provided statistical expertise to researchers in the School of Social Work’s Treatment Innovation and Dissemination Research Group.

Previously, Jester studied various aspects of the development of children of alcoholic men and alcoholism in adults. Methodologies employed in publications from this work included latent trajectory class analysis, latent growth modeling, measurement invariance and structural equation modeling. During this time, she wrote the statistical analytic approach for six grants, which produced $15 million in funding.

Jester joined the University of Michigan School of Social Work in January 2024 and looks forward to being involved in the excellent research program in this school.

Research Interests

Child development in high-risk environments; Effect of parent substance use on child development; Interventions to prevent development of delinquency in youth

Curriculum Vitae

Contact Information

  • [email protected]

  • 3692 SSWB
    University of Michigan
    School of Social Work
    1080 S. University Ave.
    Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Education

  • PhD Biomedical Engineering
    Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
  • 1993 BS Electrical Engineering
    Northwestern University, Evanston, IL

Activities

Publications

Xiaoling, X., Zhang, X., Narbu, E., Ash, S., Turner, S., Narbut, E., An, R., Jester, J. M., Park,S., & Himle, J. A. (in press). Leveraging aging service providers to support iCBT for depression in homebound older adults: Protocol for a Type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols.
Jester, J. M., Bengel, C., Issa, M., Duprey, M., Riggs, J. L., Hoffman, C, Harris, S. D., Muzik, M.,& Rosenblum, K. L. (in press). Infant mental health integration into OB care leads to increased connection to services during the perinatal period. Infant Mental Health Journal.
Losiewicz, O. M., Barnes-Horowitz, N. M., LeBeau, R. T., Jester, J., Himle, J. A., & Craske, M. G. (2025). Bidirectional Relationships Between Hours Worked and Social Anxiety and Depression Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study. Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice, 7(1), 9-17.
Petroff, R., Jester, J. M., Riggs, J. L., Alfafara, E., Spring, K. Kerr, N. Issa, M., Hall, A., Roseblum, K., Goodrich, J., Muzik, M. & Michigan Collaborative for Infant Mental Health Research. (2024). Longitudinal DNA methylation in parent-infant pairs impacted by intergenerational social adversity: A RCT of the Michigan Model of IMH-HV. Brain and Behavior, 14(9), e70035.
Bornheimer, L. A., Li Verdugo, J., Brdar, N., Im, V., Jeffers, N., Bushnell, C. B., Hoener, K., Tasker, M., DeWeese, K., Florence, T., Jester, J. M., King, C. A., Taylor, S. F., & Himle, J. A. (2024). A cognitive-behavioral treatment for suicide prevention among adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders in community mental health: Study protocol for a pilot feasibility and acceptability randomized clinical trial. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 10, 99.
Himle, J. A., LeBeau, R. T., Jester, J. M., Kilbourne, A. M., Weaver, A., Brydon, D. M.,Tucker, K. M., Hamameh, N., Castriotta, N. & Craske, M. G. (2024). Work-related cognitive behavioral therapy for racially and economically diverse unemployed persons with social anxiety: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 104, 102875.

Courses

Current & Future Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Statistical Methods in Social Sciences I Jester, Jennifer M. Fall 2026 001 09:00 am 02:00 pm View Course

Past Courses

Title Instructor Term Course Section Meeting Start Meeting End
Statistical Methods in Social Sciences II Shyrokonis, Yuliya A. Winter 2026 001 09:00 am 01:00 pm View Course
Program Evaluation and Applied Research Jester, Jennifer M. Winter 2025 010 02:00 pm 05:00 pm View Course
Program Evaluation and Applied Research Jester, Jennifer M. Fall 2024 801 06:00 pm 08:00 pm View Course