Danielle Bessett

Danielle Bessett is Professor of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies faculty affiliate at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she teaches courses on medicine, family, and reproduction. She contributes to the Medical Scientist Training Program in UC's College of Medicine and is Director of the Kunz Center for Social Research. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she received her Master’ degree and Ph.D. from New York University and held the prestigious Charlotte Ellertson Social Science Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2008-2010.

Bessett's current research projects examine patient experiences of abortion care and disparities in contraceptive access, prenatal care, and infant mortality. Bessett co-leads OPEN, the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network, which conducts rigorous, interdisciplinary research to assess the reproductive health and well-being of Ohioans in the context of federal and state laws, regulations, and policies. Her research has also been supported by the National Science Foundation, among other funders, and has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Sociology of Health & Illness, and Women's Health Issues. Bessett's monograph on women's pregnancy experiences, Pregnant with Possibilities: Constructing Normality in Stratified Reproduction, is under contract with New York University Press, and her co-edited volume, Ohio Under Covid, is forthcoming with University of Michigan Press. 

Bessett is a past board member of the academic Society of Family Planning, where she led the Junior Fellows Committee, and recently concluded her term as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Sociological Association's Medical Sociology section. She received the 2004 Dr. Mary P. Dole Medical Fellowship from the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association; the 2007 Rose Laub Coser Best Dissertation Proposal in Family or Gender Studies from the Eastern Sociological Society; the Cincinnati Women’s Political Caucus’s 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award; the 2021 Society of Family Planning's Mentor Award; and UC's 2021 Faculty Excellence Award from Office of the Provost and Office of Research. She is most proud of her student-initiated honors, including the 2012 “Professor Funnybone” award for funniest Sociology professor and the 2017 UC Women's Center Woman of the Year award for mentoring.

When Bessett is not working, you may find her hiking, knitting, traveling, reading, and/or spending time with friends. An ice cream aficionado, Bessett enthusiastically dances to 80's music and tries to prevent her three mischievous cats from burning through all of their nine lives.

Danielle Bessett CV

Pregnancy; Abortion; Sociology of Reproduction; Medical Sociology; Sociology of Families; Gender; Qualitative Methods

Grant: #URC Faculty Research Grants 2013-2014 Investigators:Bessett, Danielle 01-23-2014 -01-22-2015 UC's University Research Council URC Faculty Research Grants 2013-2014 Role:PI $8,000.00 Active Level:Internal UC

Grant: #60057009 Subaward Investigators:Bessett, Danielle 08-01-2016 -04-30-2017 Ohio State University Planning Phase for OHPEP - UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI Subaward (OSU) Role:PI $127,326.00 Active Level:Institution of Higher Education

Grant: #HB40 Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Bommaraju, Aalap 01-01-2018 -08-31-2020 Foundation Aalap Bommaraju undisclosed project (Danielle Bessett is the advisor) Role:Collaborator $191,675.00 Active Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #OPEN Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Chang, Lenisa; Jacquez, Farrah; Norwood, Carolette 04-01-2018 -03-31-2021 Foundation OPEN: The Ohio Policy Evaluation Network Role:PI $458,515.00 Active Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #SES-1904230 Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Heymann, Orlaith 05-01-2019 -04-30-2020 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research: Autonomy Constraint: Sex Educators in Schools: (w Orlaith Heymann) Role:PI $15,901.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Grant: #SES-1904230 Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Heymann, Orlaith 05-01-2019 -04-30-2020 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research: Autonomy Constraint: Sex Educators in Schools: (w Orlaith Heymann) Role:PI $15,901.00 Active Level:Federal

Grant: #SES-1904230 Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Heymann, Orlaith 05-01-2019 -04-30-2020 National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research: Autonomy Constraint: Sex Educators in Schools: (w Orlaith Heymann) Role:PI $15,901.00 Active Level:Federal

Grant: #Emerging Scholars in Family Planning Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Bommaraju, Aalap 10-01-2020 -10-31-2021 Society of Family Planning Policy Prioritization Dynamics after the implementation of Illinois’ Public Act 100-0538 Role:PI $7,416.00 Awarded Level:Private Non-Profit

Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Chang, Lenisa; Glaser, Jennifer; Gursahaney, Priya; Odum, Tamika 06-01-2021 -05-31-2023 Ohio State University Ohio Policy Evaluation Network, Cycle 2 Role:PI 1376317.33 Hold Level:Higher Education

Grant: #ASA DDRIG - Madzia Investigators:Bessett, Danielle; Madzia, Juliana 05-01-2022 -04-30-2023 American Sociological Association Inequality in Medical Professionalization and Specialization Role:PI 15912.00 Awarded Level:Non Profit

Grant: #KHJN OPEN grant Investigators:Bessett, Danielle 05-01-2022 -04-30-2024 Society of Family Planning Assessing Reproductive Equity in Kentucky After Dobbs Role:PI 9062.00 Awarded Level:Non Profit

Investigators:Bessett, Danielle -05-31-2025 Anonymous Anonymous Role:PI 0.00 Active Level:Non Profit