Tasseli McKay

Tasseli McKay is an Assistant Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and core faculty in the UNC Center for Health Equity Research. She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics (2020), an MPH in Health Behavior from UNC School of Public Health (2004), and a BA in American Studies from Yale University (1999).

• PhD, London School of Economics – Social Policy (2020)
• MPH, University of North Carolina School of Public Health – Health Behavior (2004)
• BA, Yale University – American Studies (1999)

Dr. McKay’s research focuses on the intersections of mass incarceration, family violence, and health equity. Her work examines how systemic incarceration impacts family structures and communities, particularly through the lens of racial disparities and gendered labor in Black communities. She employs mixed-method longitudinal studies and ethnographic approaches.

Her publications highlight trends in criminology, health equity, and social policy. Notably, she investigates the structural consequences of imprisonment beyond direct costs, emphasizing reparations frameworks and hidden labor dynamics.

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development-funded project (Principal Investigator)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Duke University Department of Sociology

Dr. McKay has served as principal investigator on NICHD-funded projects and contributed to long-term research initiatives like the Multi-site Family Study of Incarceration, Parenting, and Partnering, influencing policy and academic discourse on incarceration’s societal impacts.