Sociology Faculty

- Pronouns she, her, her, hers, herself
- Title
- Assistant Professor & Core Faculty in Global and Community Health Program
- Division Social Sciences Division
- Department
- Sociology Department
- Phone 831-459-3373
- Website
- Office Location
- Rachel Carson College Academic Building, 328
- Office Hours Virtual by appointment (email me)
- Mail Stop Rachel Carson College Faculty Services
- Mailing Address
- 1156 High St.
- Santa Cruz CA 95064
- Faculty Areas of Expertise Health and Wellness, Discrimination and Inequality, Death/Mortality Studies, Latin American and Latino Studies
- Courses California and the Quest for Health Equity (Winter 2022); Health in a Changing America (Spring 2022); Introduction to Population Health (Spring 2022)
Research Interests
The modifiability of health inequities; Structural racism; Systems of racialization and social stratification and health; Im/migrant health; Aging and the lifecourse; COVID-19; Mortality disparities; State and local policy related to the social determinants of health.
Biography, Education and Training
Postdoctoral Scholar, Department Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UC San Francisco
PhD in Sociology, University of Chicago
MA in Sociology, University of Chicago
MPH in Epidemiology/Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
MA in Latin American Studies, Stanford University
BA w/ Honors in Human Biology, Stanford University
Honors, Awards and Grants
2022 // Institute of Social Transformation Sprout Award
2022 // Research Center for the Americas Faculty Research Award
2021 // Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Sciences, Postdoctoral Award
2019 // NSHAP Fellows Program, Invited Fellow (2019-2022)
2018 // Excellence in Course Design, Chicago Center for Teaching, Honorable Mention
2018 // First Place Poster, International Conference on Aging in the Americas
2018 // Pozen Center Prize Lectureship in Human Rights, University of Chicago
Selected Publications
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Riley, Alicia R., Mathew V. Kiang, Yea-Hung Chen, Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, and M. Maria Glymour. 2022. “Recent Shifts in Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality in the Vaccination Period in California.” Journal of General Internal Medicine. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-07380-6.
Selected Other Publications:
Riley, Alicia R., Kate Duchowny and Ellicott C. Matthay. “Forget the debate over public health versus jobs – the same people suffer the most either way” The Conversation, April 19, 2021.
Riley, Alicia R. “The key to students returning to school is not the science - it is the resources” Cal Matters, Guest Commentary. October 13, 2020.
Riley, Alicia and Leticia Cazares. “Structural racism is shaping the Latino COVID-19 experience in San Diego County” The San Diego Union Tribune. Commentary. August 13, 2020.
Teaching Interests
Population health; Social context of health inequalities; Analyzing health data