Welcome Dr. Jessica Turner, Medical IRB Chair
Dr. Turner is an east Tennessee native who grew up in Morristown. She moved to the
Tri-Cities area to attend ETSU and never looked back. She earned a bachelor’s degree
with a double major in criminal justice and psychology. Upon completing this degree,
she continued in her studies at ETSU earning a master’s degree in criminal justice/criminology
after which she completed a master’s degree in clinical psychology. Dr. Turner was
then hired by ETSU Quillen College of Medicine as a research assistant in the department
of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. During this time, she had the opportunity to
work on numerous research projects including medication trials for schizophrenia and
fibromyalgia as well as clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease. Her work as a research
assistant helped solidify her career goals and she returned to ETSU as a student in
the clinical psychology doctoral program. In 2013, she was the fifth graduate of this
program focused on training psychologists to work in integrated primary care settings.
She is trained as a clinical psychologist and has worked in a variety of settings
including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), community mental health, and
the Veterans Administration. She is passionate about working with the underserved
and improving access to care.
After working at the James H. Quillen VAMC for 8 years, she joined the ETSU faculty in 2022, serving as the Director of Behavior Health in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology where she works as a behavioral health consultant. She is excited to be part of an amazing team of caring professionals dedicated to providing the best care to women in our region. She is actively working to grow the integrated care workforce by training psychology externs and social work students in providing team-based care through her work with the Institute for Integrated Behavioral Health.
During her time as a research assistant, she became more involved with the ETSU/VA Medical IRB through protocol submissions and was asked to serve on the board as a non-scientist member. Dr. Turner has served on the ETSU/VA Medical IRB for the better part of 14 years as a non-scientist member then as a scientist member through her affiliation with the VA and an advocate for cognitively impaired participants. Since returning to ETSU, Dr. Turner has remained on the ETSU/VA Medical IRB and has recently been appointed as Chair of the board. She enjoys working with researchers from across the university as well as fellow board members to support researchers in making meaningful contributions to their fields and improving the lives of those in our region and beyond. When she is not at work, she enjoys baking, running, yoga, camping, and knitting. She lives locally with her husband and two dogs who tag along on all the adventures, whether they want to or not.