Graduate Students on the Market
Chris Bijou
Email: bijou.1@osu.edu
Research and Teaching Interests: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Health Disparities, and Public Policy
Dissertation Title: Ain’t I a Woman?: Structural Influence on Black Women’s Health
Advisor: Cindy Colen
Yoonyoung Choi
Email: choi.1620@osu.edu
Website: Yoonyoung Choi
Young is currently in her fifth year as a doctoral candidate and holds an affiliation with the Institute for Population Research. She is deeply committed to exploring the intricacies of population and life-course dynamics. Her research primarily focuses on health disparities and the social determinants of mortality, with a special emphasis on the interplay among family dynamics, gender roles, and immigration. Currently, Young is leading several research projects aimed at unraveling the complexities behind the recent declines in health across the United States. Another significant area of her research examines how the health of immigrants is influenced by marital factors, including spousal nativity and changes in health behaviors. Through her rigorous quantitative analysis and empirical research, she seeks to elucidate the complex relationships between social factors and health outcomes throughout different stages of life.
Anna Church
Email: church.213@osu.edu
Website: Anna Church
Anna is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Ohio State and a graduate affiliate of the Institute for Population Research. She has two complementary research agendas centered on the intersection of medicine, gender, and reproduction and fertility and childbearing desires over the life course. Her dissertation examines experiences with gestational diabetes from the perspectives of patients, partners, and providers. Her work has been published in Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Reproductive Health, and Journal of Primary Care and Community Health. Anna has worked with several cross-disciplinary research teams and has developed a great deal of experience and skill in qualitative data collection and analysis.
Tori Coan (they/she)
Email: coan.17@osu.edu
CV: Tori Coan CV
Bio: I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at Ohio State University. My research interests include the sociology of care work; race, class, and gender inequality; disability; and political economy. I am seeking applied research and policy-oriented positions in non-profit, research/think tank, and government organizations.
My quantitative research skills include proficiency in R and STATA and experience with statistical modeling techniques such as longitudinal data analyses and multi-level modeling. My research and data skills are complimented by my applied research and legislative experience. Prior to beginning my PhD, I worked as a Legislative Director in the Maryland General Assembly; working to pass progressive tax legislation, paid family and medical leave insurance, and childcare subsidies. In 2023, I interned for the Center for Economic and Policy Research; co-authoring multiple policy reports related to universal basic income, paid family and medical leave, and the need for improved federal data collection on paid and unpaid caregiving.
Dissertation Title: Debts of Care - Unpaid Caregiving and Unsecured Debt among U.S. Adults 55+
Advisor: Rachel Dwyer
Story Edison
Email: edison.22@osu.edu
CV: https://storyedison.com/cv
Research and Teaching Interests: I specialize in applying diverse research methodologies to academic and non-academic research goals. I am experienced in both qualitative and quantitative research, including advanced statistical techniques such as social network analysis and longitudinal modeling. My areas of expertise include project management, market research, policy, leadership, technical writing, and creative problem solving.
Dissertation Title: Stuck Between Prison and a Hard Place: A Network Approach to Women's Re-entry Experiences Following Incarceration
Advisors: Dr. Dana L. Haynie
Jacob Kepes
Email: kepes.8@osu.edu
Kepes CV (PDF)
Research and Teaching Interests: I am a PhD candidate in Sociology seeking to use my research expertise, proficiency with statistical software (R, Stata, and Python), and experience with qualitative methods (interviews and ethnography) in a non-academic role. My research areas include spatial analysis, housing, urban sociology, public health, race, and crime.
Dissertation Title: Flipping a Floodplain: A Case Study of Gentrification in Columbus, Ohio
Advisors: Townsand Price-Spratlen and Christopher Browning
Alex Kempler
Email: kempler.4@osu.edu
Website: Alex Kempler
Alex Kempler (she/they) is a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at The Ohio State University. She is broadly interested in urban and community sociology, social movements, and housing sociology. Her research examines how community members, such as housing insecure, unhoused individuals, and activists, mobilize for housing rights. Her dissertation will explore the resurgence of encampments on the West Coast, focusing specifically on the “Stop the Sweeps Movement” in Los Angeles and Seattle. Other work looks at housing rights and policy more broadly, examining topics like the evolution of eviction policy during the COVID-19 pandemic and housing policy changes related to the Violence Against Women Act.