Tania Jenkins

Tania Jenkins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is also a faculty research fellow at UNC's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and the book review editor at Social Forces. Previously, she held positions at Temple University (2017–2019) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago (2016–2017). She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Brown University in 2016.

Her research focuses on medical sociology, work and professions, social stratification, gender, and qualitative methodologies. Central themes include how societal and institutional factors shape physicians’ and patients’ experiences, often reinforcing social inequality and health disparities. Her work has explored physician burnout, healthcare system pressures, gender dynamics in medicine, and the hidden curriculum in medical training.

Jenkins has been funded by organizations including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Her research has appeared in journals like Social Problems, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and Social Science & Medicine. She has received awards from the American Sociological Association, British Sociological Association, and Southern Sociological Society.

Her current projects address physician well-being during the pandemic, healthcare worker stress, and the sociological dimensions of medical education. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to translate research findings into actionable insights for improving healthcare systems and professional training.