Rachel K. Best

Rachel K. Best is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan. She holds roles within the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Her research focuses on politics, culture, and inequality in health, illness, and medicine.

Education: Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley (2012).

Research Interests: Medical sociology, mixed methods, politics of health policy, law and deviance, sociology of culture, and sociological theory. Current projects include computational analysis of disease stigma and policy outcomes, and ADA litigation effects on disability visibility.

Key Publication: Common Enemies: Disease Campaigns in America examines how single-disease advocacy shapes—and often limits—health policy outcomes. Ongoing work explores societal overestimation of health control and its political consequences.

Advising & Leadership: Directs the Sociology Graduate Program, overseeing student development and curriculum. Her office is in Room 4122 LSA Building.