معرفی
Rachel Best is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her research focuses on the intersections of politics, culture, inequality, and health, with a particular emphasis on disease advocacy, disability discrimination, and the sociological implications of medical policy. She directs the Sociology graduate program and leads computational studies on disease stigma, advocacy strategies, and ADA litigation outcomes. Her work bridges medical sociology, legal studies, and public health, addressing how societal structures shape health outcomes and policy responses.
Her research interests include analyzing how disease campaigns influence health policy, the political consequences of overestimating individual health control, and the role of stigma in disability rights litigation. Notable projects use computational methods to trace policy advocacy impacts and explore visibility dynamics in disability cases.
Recent publications (2022–2025) highlight her focus on disease stigma’s societal effects, legal interpretations of invisible disabilities, and the evolving nature of advocacy in health policy. Her earlier works, such as Common Enemies: Disease Campaigns in America, critique single-disease advocacy frameworks and their unintended policy consequences.
Rachel Best advises on graduate studies and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams. Her research has been supported by grants focusing on sociological methods in health policy analysis. She is affiliated with the University of Michigan’s Sociology Department and the LSA College, contributing to discussions on inequality and institutional sociology.
