Dr. Jessica Tuan, MD

Dr. Jessica Tuan’s underlying interests focus on global health through the lens of healthcare infrastructure and social justice; the intersection of how life is impacted by infectious diseases, geography, and society; and the syndromes seen in tropical medicine.
She completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, respectively. After graduating from Chicago Medical School, she completed Internal Medicine Residency at University of Connecticut School of Medicine & Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine.
She joins Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in Infectious Diseases. Prior, she was a Yale School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Attending Physician, and Donaldson Firm Core Faculty, caring for people with HIV, infectious diseases, and other medical conditions. She was the Yale Antivirals …& Vaccines Research Program Associate Director (2023-2024), conducting research to prevent/treat infectious diseases, particularly HIV & COVID-19. She was Principal Investigator for multiple Yale clinical trials (i.e., REPRIEVE, STOMP, mRNA influenza vaccine) and Sub-Investigator for clinical trials to prevent and treat HIV (i.e., lenacapavir, cabotegravir) & other infectious diseases, including COVID-19 (BNT162b2 clinical trials).
For over a decade, she treated patients with HIV & other diseases globally and taught trainees including as a Yale/Johnson & Johnson Global Health Scholar in limited-resource settings—notably in Butare & Kigali, Rwanda; Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa; Monrovia, Liberia (NIH-funded R21 HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Perspectives of Liberian Adolescent Girls & Young Women and their Providers (PRECIOUS Study) Co-Investigator). She received the Yale/World Bank Leadership in Global Health & Yale Public Voices Fellowships.
She was a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières Infectious Diseases Physician in rural Homa Bay, Kenya (2024-2025)—treating people with HIV, tuberculosis & other opportunistic infections, malaria, critical illnesses—and taught medical students & clinical officers, in addition to developing the antimicrobial stewardship program. She completed the Gorgas Advanced Tropical Medicine Course at the Alexander von Humboldt Tropical Medicine Institute, Peru. She received the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medicine & Travelers’ Health and American Academy of HIV Medicine HIV Specialist certifications.
She has written over 30 manuscripts (CID, HIV Medicine, EID, AJTMH, JAIDS, Rwanda Medical Journal, BMJ) and was a featured media expert (Washington Post, Newsweek, National Geographic, LBC News, Yale Daily News, NBC CT & WTNH News). She plays piano and will join as a Columbia University Irving Medical Center Symphony Orchestra violinist. She is a cyclist and is training for her third marathon.
With her vision to care for patients regardless of geography or circumstance, she hopes to redefine patient care globally through the lens of education & healthcare infrastructure development and through demands for social justice.