Jacob Bleasdale is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Central Florida. He holds a PhD and MS in Community Health and Health Behavior from the University at Buffalo, completed a NIAAA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in translational science, alcohol, and HIV within the Southern HIV and Alcohol Research Consortium at the University of Florida, and is a certified health education specialist.

Dr. Bleasdale’s research uses mixed-methods and community-engaged approaches to examine how health-related social needs (e.g., food insecurity, housing instability, and financial hardship), along with alcohol and substance use, influence HIV and STI prevention and treatment. His secondary lines of work focus on developing and evaluating novel alcohol harm-reduction strategies and investigating biopsychosocial determinants of sexual health through qualitative and quantitative methods. In addition to serving in this role in the Caucus, Dr. Bleasdale is also an Editorial Board Member for BMC Public Health.