I am currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development in the Duke University School of Medicine. Before this, I received my PhD in sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill and trained at the Carolina Population Center.
My research examines the social and political-economic drivers of population health inequities, with a focus on manifestations of systemic and structural racism in the United States. I also want to know how different groups of people exercise agency to cope with chronic social marginalization and stress. The main coping resources I focus on are religious and family social supports.
My studies are published in Social Forces, Demography, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Society and Mental Health, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, among other outlets. My studies have won awards from the American Sociological Association. They have also been featured in major news outlets like The New York Times, Yahoo! News, and Newsweek.
When I'm not working, I'm cooking and writing music with my partner, Allison, and taking walks with our rescue mutt, Stewart. In past lives, I toured in punk bands, worked as a line cook in commercial kitchens, and studied philosophy.