Jesus Ramirez-Valles, PhD, MPH, BA

Division Chief

Jesus’s work is deeply rooted in the social and behavioral sciences and strongly focused on health equity and community engagement. His research and advocacy have centered on the challenges of health and health care for excluded communities, including LGBTQI populations, people of color, and women. He has published two books: Compañeros: Latino Activists in the Face of AIDS (University of Illinois Press, 2011), and Queer Aging: The Gayby Boomers and a New Frontier for Gerontology (Oxford University Press, 2018). His work has been funded by both the National Institutes of Health and several foundations. He is currently editor-in-chief of Health Education and Behavior. His 2007 documentary, Tal Como Somos/Just As We Are, chronicles the lives of Latino gay men, transgender persons and people living with HIV/AIDS. It has been featured on PBS and as part of several international film festivals.

Before this role, Jesus served as director of the Health Equity Institute at San Francisco State University. Prior to that, he chaired the department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Public Health. His connection to UCSF dates to 1998-2001, when he was a visiting professor at UCSF's Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), a major center in the division he will now be leading.

Education
PhD, 1997 - Public Health, The University of Michigan
MPH, 1993 - Health Education, Global Health, The University of Michigan
BA, 1987 - Communication, ITESM
Publications

  1. Canavese D, Diaz Bermudez XPC, Polidoro M, Ferreira AR, Ramirez-Valles J. Focus Issue: Epistemological Perspectives From the Latin American and Caribbean Global South. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2024. PMID: 39360477


  2. Rosenfeld D, Ramirez-Valles J. Corrigendum: Beyond identity and generations: bringing life course theory to studies of older gay men. Frontiers in sociology 2024. PMID: 39113941


  3. Leontowitsch M, Rosenfeld D, Lottmann R, Ramirez-Valles J. Editorial: Queer(ing) age(ing). Frontiers in sociology 2024. PMID: 39045385


  4. Ramirez-Valles J, Rodriguez-Diaz CE. Embracing Diversity Under the Latine LGBTQ+ Umbrella: Uniting in Public Health Advocacy. American journal of public health 2024. PMID: 39083727


  5. Rosenfeld D, Ramirez-Valles J. Beyond identity and generations: bringing life course theory to studies of older gay men. Frontiers in sociology 2024. PMID: 38813397


  6. Bather JR, Furr-Holden D, Ramirez-Valles J, Goodman MS. Unpacking Public Health Implications of the 2023 Supreme Court Ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2023. PMID: 37667626


  7. Ramirez-Valles J, Neubauer LC, Zambrana RE. Inequity Within: A Call for Inclusion of Latina/o/x Scholars in Faculty and Leadership Ranks in Schools and Programs of Public Health. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974) 2022. PMID: 35289648


  8. Ramirez-Valles J. Racism Within: Special Journal Issue on Scholars of Color. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2021. PMID: 34080469


  9. Brennan-Ing M, Ramirez-Valles J, Tax A. Aging With HIV: Health Policy and Advocacy Priorities. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2021. PMID: 33410347


  10. Ramirez-Valles J. Public Health Has an Equity Problem: A Latinx's Voice. Frontiers in public health 2020. PMID: 33042954


  11. Ramirez-Valles J, Breton E, Chae DH, Haardörfer R, Kuhns LM. The COVID-19 Pandemic: Everything Old Is New Again in Public Health Education. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2020. PMID: 32517520


  12. Kim SJ, Ramirez-Valles J, Watson K, Allen-Mears P, Matthews A, Martinez E, Odoms-Young A, Daviglus M, Winn RA. Fostering health equity research: Development and implementation of the Center for Health Equity Research (CHER) Chicago. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 2019. PMID: 32257411


  13. Matthews AK, Rak K, Anderson E, Bostwick W, Ramirez-Valles J, Ruiz RA, Macapagal K, Watson KS, Jeremiah RD, Castillo A, Choure W. White Paper from a CTSA Workshop Series on Special and Underserved Populations: Enhancing Investigator Readiness to Conduct Research Involving LGBT Populations. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 2018. PMID: 30559982


  15. Ramirez-Valles J. Global Citizen, Immigrant, Survivor, Activist, Gayby Boomer, Academic, and Editor: Dr. Sy and the History of AIDS Education and Prevention. AIDS education and prevention : official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education 2018. PMID: 29969307


  16. Ramirez-Valles J. The New HE&B Editorial Team. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2018. PMID: 29767561


  17. Ramirez-Valles J. My Journey With Health Education & Behavior. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2017. PMID: 29240462


  18. Ramirez-Valles J. Farewell. Health promotion practice 2017. PMID: 29039711


  19. Morgan E, Skaathun B, Lancki N, Jimenez AD, Ramirez-Valles J, Bhatia R, Masiello-Schuette S, Benbow N, Prachand N, Schneider JA. Trends in HIV Risk, Testing, and Treatment among MSM in Chicago 2004-2014: Implications for HIV Elimination Planning. Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine 2017. PMID: 28631059


  20. Molina Y, Dirkes J, Ramirez-Valles J. Burnout in HIV/AIDS Volunteers: A Socio-Cultural Analysis among Latino Gay, Bisexual Men, and Transgender People. Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly 2017. PMID: 29422719


  21. Dirkes J, Hughes T, Ramirez-Valles J, Johnson T, Bostwick W. Sexual identity development: relationship with lifetime suicidal ideation in sexual minority women. Journal of clinical nursing 2016. PMID: 27477498


  22. Zea MC, Reisen CA, del Río-González AM, Bianchi FT, Ramirez-Valles J, Poppen PJ. HIV Prevalence and Awareness of Positive Serostatus Among Men Who Have Sex With Men and Transgender Women in Bogotá, Colombia. American journal of public health 2015. PMID: 25602899


  23. Ramirez-Valles J, Dirkes J, Barrett HA. GayBy Boomers' social support: exploring the connection between health and emotional and instrumental support in older gay men. Journal of gerontological social work 2014. PMID: 24798546


  24. Ramirez-Valles J. Building our collective vision for health promotion practice. Health promotion practice 2014. PMID: 24532787


  25. Ramirez-Valles J, Kuhns LM, Vázquez R, Benjamin GD. Getting Involved: Exploring Latino GBT Volunteerism and Activism in AIDS and LGBT Organizations. Journal of gay & lesbian social services 2014. PMID: 26451081


  27. Ramirez-Valles J, Molina Y, Dirkes J. Stigma towards PLWHA: the role of internalized homosexual stigma in Latino gay/bisexual male and transgender communities. AIDS education and prevention : official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education 2013. PMID: 23631713


  29. Gray-Stanley JA, Muramatsu N, Heller T, Hughes S, Johnson TP, Ramirez-Valles J. Work stress and depression among direct support professionals: the role of work support and locus of control. Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR 2010. PMID: 20633203


  31. Ramirez-Valles J, Kuhns LM, Campbell RT, Diaz RM. Social integration and health: community involvement, stigmatized identities, and sexual risk in Latino sexual minorities. Journal of health and social behavior 2010. PMID: 20420293


  32. Ramirez-Valles J, Garcia D, Campbell RT, Diaz RM, Heckathorn DD. HIV infection, sexual risk behavior, and substance use among Latino gay and bisexual men and transgender persons. American journal of public health 2008. PMID: 18445807


  33. García DI, Gray-Stanley J, Ramirez-Valles J. "The priest obviously doesn't know that I'm gay": the religious and spiritual journeys of Latino gay men. Journal of homosexuality 2008. PMID: 19042279


  34. Kuhns LM, Vazquez R, Ramirez-Valles J. Researching special populations: retention of Latino gay and bisexual men and transgender persons in longitudinal health research. Health education research 2007. PMID: 17974545


  35. Ramirez-Valles J. The quest for effective HIV-prevention interventions for Latino gay men. American journal of preventive medicine 2007. PMID: 17386334


  36. Ramirez-Valles J, Heckathorn DD, Vázquez R, Diaz RM, Campbell RT. From networks to populations: the development and application of respondent-driven sampling among IDUs and Latino gay men. AIDS and behavior 2005. PMID: 16235135


  37. Ramirez-Valles J, Brown AU. Latinos' community involvement in HIV/AIDS: organizational and individual perspectives on volunteering. AIDS education and prevention : official publication of the International Society for AIDS Education 2003. PMID: 12630602


  38. Ramirez-Valles J. The protective effects of community involvement for HIV risk behavior: a conceptual framework. Health education research 2002. PMID: 12197585


  39. Ramirez-Valles J. "I was not invited to be a [CHW] ... I asked to be one": motives for community mobilization among women community health workers in Mexico. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 2001. PMID: 11265826


  40. Ramirez-Valles J. Changing women: the narrative construction of personal change through community health work among women in Mexico. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 1999. PMID: 9952050


  41. Ramirez-Valles J. Women, the welfare state, and their transnational dimension: the case of Mexico's community health worker programs. International journal of health services : planning, administration, evaluation 1999. PMID: 10450549


  43. Ramirez-Valles J, Zimmerman MA, Newcomb MD. Sexual risk behavior among youth: modeling the influence of prosocial activities and socioeconomic factors. Journal of health and social behavior 1998. PMID: 9785696


  44. Zimmerman MA, Ramirez-Valles J, Suarez E, de la Rosa G, Castro MA. An HIV/AIDS prevention project for Mexican homosexual men: an empowerment approach. Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education 1997. PMID: 9079577


  45. Zimmerman MA, Ramirez-Valles J, Washienko KM, Walter B, Dyer S. The development of a measure of enculturation for Native American youth. American journal of community psychology 1996. PMID: 8795263