Abigail (Abby) M. Ross, LICSW, MPH, PhD

Abigail (Abby) M. Ross, MSW, LICSW, MPH, PhD is an applied researcher who conducts rigorous, community-partnered, translational research designed to yield sustainable, evidence-based practice improvements and significant, measurable organizational change. Broadly, her program of research is organized around four interrelated aims that prioritize evidence-based prevention—including suicide prevention—health systems implementation and evaluation, technology-enabled innovation, and the advancement of interprofessional workforce models in pediatric health care settings.
Specifically, her research seeks to: (1) develop, adapt, refine, and implement evidence-based preventive interventions for youth and families – specifically suicide prevention and risk mitigation approaches within and across health care settings; (2) generate evidence to enhance the reach and impact of evidence-based practices across youth-serving health systems; (3) leverage technology to identify unmet social needs and evaluate the effectiveness of social care interventions designed to address them; and (4) advance understanding of the roles and contributions of social work in improving population health and delivering high-quality, interprofessional, team-based care. Dr. Ross’s research has been supported by several federal sources and national foundations, including the American Foundation Suicide Prevention, the Doris Duke Foundation, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the National Institute of Mental Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Tommy Fuss Center for Neuropsychiatric Disease Research.
Dr. Ross brings over 15 years of clinical practice experience working across a variety of settings across the health care continuum and in the field of home visiting. She has received extensive clinical training in family-based interventions, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and suicide risk assessment, management, and treatment. Dr. Ross completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame; she earned Masters degrees in Social Work and Public Health and a joint doctorate in Social Work & Sociology from Boston University.