Rate My Professor Jessica Wilson

Jessica Wilson is a Communications Adviser at the University of Otago, specializing in media engagement. She joined the University in 2022 following a career of more than five years as a print journalist at The Star, where she served as a general reporter, sports reporter, and ad features writer. Her journalism experience provides her with strong skills in storytelling, reporting, and public communication, which she applies to promote the University's research outputs and institutional news.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Communication Studies, from the University of Otago, which she completed in 2015. She furthered her professional training with a Diploma of Journalism from Otago Polytechnic in 2016. Based in the Communications Office within the External Engagement division, she advises on media strategies and acts as a primary contact for external media enquiries. Jessica has facilitated media coverage for a wide array of University research announcements, including studies on infant sleep hazards and the risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy, treatment of heart attacks at rural versus urban hospitals, poorer educational outcomes for children with type 1 diabetes, dental biorhythms tracking weight gain in adolescents, excessive television viewing in childhood as a risk factor for smoking and gambling disorders, system redesign to improve access to clinical trials, the need for primary care funding overhaul, lower respiratory diseases in homes with retrofitted insulation, businesses' bottom lines suffering from extreme heat, climate change risks to property values, fellowships awarded to Otago researchers, high-quality alternative earnings disclosures when women are on boards, continuity of care from the front to the back of cancer pathways, vital relationships for Aotearoa's health system success, and progress in treating heart disease in diabetic patients. Through these efforts, she enhances the public impact and visibility of Otago's scholarly work across health sciences, environmental studies, economics, and social issues.