Ryan Talbert

Ryan Talbert is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, affiliated with the Africana Studies Institute and the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy. He leads the Health Equity Lab, focusing on health disparities, race and racism, and punishment's societal impacts. His work critically examines systemic racism’s role in maintaining racial health gaps and explores the intersection of race, criminal justice, and mental health.

Educated at Vanderbilt University (PhD, 2020), East Carolina University (MA, 2015), and the University of North Carolina (BA, 2013), Talbert combines sociological and psychological perspectives to analyze discrimination, identity, and incarceration’s consequences. His research has been published in journals such as Journal of Marriage and Family and covered by media outlets like NBCBLK.

His scholarship highlights trends in police discrimination’s mental health impacts, the relationship between incarceration and psychiatric disorders, and disparities in health insurance access. Recent articles emphasize Confederate memorialization’s effects on Black communities and gender-ethnic variations in mental health outcomes.

Awarded the 2024 Mentorship Excellence Award, Teaching Excellence Award, and Faculty Mentoring Award, Talbert is dedicated to undergraduate and graduate student mentorship. His work bridges academic research with public health interventions, advocating for health equity through policy and community engagement.