Prof. Crystal Yang Awarded ALI’s Early Career Scholars Medal
The American Law Institute has announced that it will award its Early Career Scholars Medal to Professor Crystal S. Yang of Harvard Law School and Professor Leah Litman of the University of Michigan Law School. The award recognizes outstanding law professors whose work is relevant to public policy and has the potential to influence improvements in the law. Two medalists are selected every other year.
For more information, see
ALI Announces Early Career Scholars: Leah Litman and Crystal S. Yang | American Law Institute
Crystal Yang honored with ALI’s Early Career Scholars Medal | Harvard Law School
Lab Members Attend the National Conference for the NCCHC
Project coordinator Nadia Huffman (right two) and graduate RA Nicky Joseph (right one)
In October, our project coordinator and research assistant traveled to Las Vegas to attend the National Conference for the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC). Health care and correctional professionals from across the U.S. attend this conference to network with other professionals and learn from industry experts. The conference included over 100 presentations, a poster exhibit, keynote session, exhibit hall, and networking events. Our project coordinator and research assistant had the opportunity to attend sessions to learn from industry experts and connected with health and correctional professionals from across the U.S. They also took part of the poster exhibit where they had the opportunity to share information about our study on NCCHC accreditation and recruited experts in corrections and health care to complete a survey where they were asked to predict the outcomes of our study. Once our study concludes, we will compare these expert predictions to what our study finds.
Health Inequality Lab Receives PTEC Grant
We are thrilled to announce that we have been selected as a recipient of the Preparedness and Treatment Equity Coalition (PTEC) Health Inequities Research Grant. PTEC brings researchers, businesses, and advocates together to develop metrics-driven approaches to close health disparities and provide services to underserved communities. They aim to create evidence that can be used to reform health systems.
The Health Inequality Lab will use this grant to study the intersection of the unequal distribution of disease and incarceration in the U.S, with a focus on Black and Latino men, a population that is especially disadvantaged in both disease burden and the likelihood of incarceration. Our project will explore the critical role that correctional health care can play in reducing racial disparities in hypertensive-related conditions, a leading cause of death for Black and Latino men.
To learn more about PTEC click here.
Prof. Crystal Yang to Join the Russell Sage Foundation Advisory Committee
Professor Crystal Yang will be joining the Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) Advisory Committee: Behavioral Science and Decision Making, starting January 2023.
To learn more, see the Russell Sage Foundation and its Behavioral Science and Decision Making Program.
Prof. Marcella Alsan Elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Professor Marcella Alsan was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for her scholarly insights on understanding the origins of medical mistrust and the role it plays in understanding health disparities. Her work has shaped policy in addressing disparities through increasing health care workforce diversity and improving messaging in reaching historically marginalized and vulnerable populations.
To learn more about Professor Alsan’s work, see: HKS Professor Marcella Alsan elected to National Academy of Medicine.
For more information on this year’s elected members, see: National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members.
Prof. Crystal Yang Named the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law
Professor Crystal Yang was named the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, starting July 1, 2022.
To learn more about Professor Crystal Yang’s work, see: Crystal S. Yang | Harvard Law School.
Health Inequality Lab Receives RSF Grant
We are delighted to be selected to receive a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation for our project, "Reducing Racial Health Care Gaps via Physician Solidarity Signals." In this project, we will focus on the consequences of discrimination in criminal justice, one of the key institutions generating inequality and an issue of pressing public policy, on healthcare demand because the medical system plays an important role in addressing racial health inequality. We investigate whether counter signals made by healthcare professionals to indicate racial solidarity enhance actual healthcare demand. These findings will guide approaches for actors, specifically institutions, to proactively address the effects of structural racism.
To learn more about the Russell Sage Foundation, click here.
Prof. Marcella Alsan Awarded 2021 MacArthur Fellowship
Marcella Alsan, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Director of the Health Inequality Lab, was one of 25 recipients of this year’s MacArthur Fellowship. The fellowship, which was announced in late September, recognizes and supports her work studying the causes and consequences of health inequality.
To learn more about Professor Alsan’s work and how the fellowship will support the next stages of her research, see below for selected articles covering the fellowship announcement:
MacArthur Foundation: “Marcella Alsan: Investigating the role that legacies of discrimination and resulting mistrust play in perpetuating racial disparities in health”
Harvard Kennedy School: “Marcella Alsan awarded MacArthur Fellowship”
Harvard Gazette: “A life’s mission sparked by disbelief over Tuskegee study”
Harvard Crimson: “Harvard Kennedy School Professor Marcella Alsan Wins MacArthur Grant”
J-PAL: “Marcella Alsan on her recent MacArthur Fellowship award and researching racial disparities in health”
Quartz: “The work of two MacArthur fellows has been central to our understanding of Covid-19”
Loyola Stritch School of Medicine: “Stritch alum awarded MacArthur Foundation ‘genius grant’”
