Dr. Jessica Williams

Dr. Jessica Williams is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Williams cares for patients and teaches rheumatology fellows at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, which is the Southeast’s largest safety-net hospital. She is passionate about clinical research to advance care for patients living with lupus, focusing on diverse and underserved patient populations. Her current research is focused on understanding why Black patients are underrepresented in lupus clinical trials and examining patterns of care and outcomes in patients with lupus residing in rural areas, with a specific interest in social and environmental exposures and their impact on lupus risk and lupus-related outcomes such as mortality, hospitalizations, and end-stage kidney disease. Her recent original research publications have focused on the association between pesticide exposure and risk of lupus, racial disparities in contraception care among reproductive age-women with lupus, and the impact of an integrated care management program on acute care use and missed appointments among high-risk patients with lupus. Dr. Williams is a native of Auburn, Alabama and a graduate of Auburn University (BS, 2010), Emory University School of Medicine (MD, 2015), Emory University Rollins School of Public Health (MPH in Epidemiology, 2015), Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency (2018), and Harvard/Brigham and Women’s Hospital Rheumatology Fellowship (2021).