Sociology Research Latest Stories and Happenings
Welcome to the Purdue Sociology Research page. Here, you'll learn about recent publications, awards, and research initiatives led by faculty in the Department of Sociology, as well as how their work reflects key sociological themes and issues that prospective graduate students may be interested in exploring through collaboration and mentorship.
The Sociology department does cutting edge research that is published in top journals and funded externally.
Faculty
Labs
Areas of Specialization
Assistant Professor Evelina Akimova
Dr. Evelina Akimova’s primary research areas are health inequalities, focusing on chronotype and wellbeing, using computational social science and statistical genetics methods. Her current research focuses on the use of molecular genetics, survey, and accelerometer data to understand the complex interplay between chronotype, depressive symptoms, and labor market decisions and trajectories. Beyond social science genomics, Dr. Akimova is focusing on causal inference methods, particularly investigating the harmful consequences of different types of collider bias and sample selection. She is also engaged in meta-analytic techniques applied to social stratification research. Dr. Akimova earned her PhD in Sociology from the University of Oxford in 2021, where she explored the combined roles of biological and socio-demographic determinants of depressive symptoms in the UK. Before joining Purdue University, she completed her postdoc at the Leverhulme Center for Demographic Science and Nuffield College, University of Oxford, in 2024. Dr. Akimova specializes in Social Science Genomics, Chronotype & Mental Health, Career Trajectories, Biodemography, and Quantitative Methods & Causal Inference. To read more about Dr. Akimova, click here.
Pioneering Epidemiologist and ‘Science Tooth Fairy’ to join Department of Sociology at Purdue
An expert epidemiologist whose research on genetics, epigenetics, childhood adversity, and baby teeth has earned her the moniker “The Science Tooth Fairy” is the most recent recruiting success in the Moveable Dream Hire program. Erin C. Dunn, ScD, MPH, will leave Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital to join Purdue’s Department of Sociology as Professor, directing a new university-wide interdisciplinary center focused on sociogenomics. The center’s goals are ambitious: to bring the genomics revolution to the social sciences and deepen the inclusion of social science research in genetic studies.
Read more about Dr. Dunn's research here.
Assistant Professor Jacqui Frost Explains Rise in “Secular Churches”
Jacqui Frost is an assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts' Department of Sociology at Purdue University. In this video, she explains the rise in “secular churches” across America. Frost categorizes an “atheist church” as an organization that intentionally mimics a religious organization and its rituals and practices for nonreligious people such as atheists or agnostics.
Read the article about Dr. Frost's research here.
Professor Hui (Cathy) Liu
Hui (Cathy) Liu is a professor of sociology and the director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course. She holds a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Nankai University, China, and an M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Sociology and Demography from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Liu's research is guided by the aging and life course perspective, focusing on the social determinants of population health. She investigates how marriage and family processes influence and are influenced by health and well-being over the life course, with a special emphasis on vulnerable populations, including older adults and sexual and gender minorities. Her work has earned numerous prestigious national awards, including an NIH Career Award (Mentored Research Scientist Development Award). Dr. Liu is an elected fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and a Butler-Williams Scholar selected by the National Institute on Aging. She currently serves as a standing member of the NIH Social Sciences and Population Studies (SSPB) study section.
Read more about Dr. Liu here.
Assistant Professor Marcus Mann
Marcus Mann is an assistant professor of sociology at Purdue University. His overarching interest is in how conflicting cultural knowledge authorities affect individuals’ perceptions of science, politics, religion, and reality more generally. He has studied this general question in the context of atheist social movements, polarization in political media, and attitudes toward science and scientists. Currently, he is working on several projects related to political media diets and susceptibility to political disinformation and extremism.
To read more about Dr. Mann click here.
Dean's Associate Professor of the College of Liberal Arts Trenton D. Mize
Trenton D. Mize is the Dean's Associate Professor of the College of Liberal Arts in the departments of Sociology & Statistics (by courtesy) at Purdue University. He is a founder and co-director of The Methodology Center at Purdue and a founder and co-director of the Kernan Experimental Social Science Lab. Trent is a methodologist and social psychologist. In his methodological research he develops new tools for categorical data analysis, data visualization, latent variable modeling, and experimental design. In his social psychological work, he draws on theories of identity, status, and stereotyping to (a) understand how social categories impact how we view ourselves and how others view and treat us, and (b) the social factors that influence health and well-being. His website is www.trentonmize.com.
Read more about Dr. Trenton D. Mize here.
Department Head & Professor Linda Renzulli
Dr. Renzulli's research is concentrated at the intersection of organizations and stratification in the educational setting (K-12 as well as Higher Ed). Her main area of research is on the causes and consequences of school organizations and the school-family nexus in the landscape of public education. Her current research, funded by the National Science Foundation, examines Parent Teacher Associations and their consequences for school stratification. Dr. Renzulli was the editor of Sociology of Education (2016 - 2022), an American Sociological Association journal. To read more about Dr. Renzulli, click here.
Professor Jeremy Reynolds
Jeremy Reynolds is professor of sociology at Purdue University. He studies how workplaces contribute to inequality. Much of his research focuses on variations in the extent to which workers can accommodate personal and family needs by adjusting when, where, and how much they work. His recent research examines whether gig work lives up to its promise of providing the work schedules people prefer. He is a former winner of the Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award, and he has published in leading journals including American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Work & Occupations, Journal of Marriage and Family, and Industrial & Labor Relations Review.
To read more about Dr. Reynolds click here.
Associate Professor Christie Sennott
Christie Sennott is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology. Her research addresses the social, cultural, and structural factors that shape sexual and reproductive health, maternal and child health, and family formation. She often examines how gender inequality influences these processes. She has analyzed related questions in the U.S. and South Korea, as well as across several low- and middle-income countries including South Africa, Malawi, and India.
Read more about Dr. Christie Sennott here.
Assistant Professor Christopher Seto
Christopher Han-Fai Seto earned his Ph.D. in Criminology from the Pennsylvania State University and joined the Purdue Department of Sociology in 2023. Chris’s substantive interests include hate crime, violence, health, and religion / morality. He is especially interested in the ecological aspects of these social phenomena and often draws on spatial data and methodologies in his research. Chris also uses computational methods to explore large-scale networks and work with big social / digital data. To read more about Dr. Seto, click here.
Sociology Welcomes New Faculty Mark Suchman
A top researcher whose work includes studying law and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley is the latest recruiting success in the Moveable Dream Hires program. Mark Suchman has joined the Purdue University faculty in the College of Liberal Arts as a professor of sociology. Suchman also serves as executive director of the American Bar Foundation.
Read more about Sociology new faculty hire Mark Suchman here.
Distinguished Professor J. Jill Suitor
Dr. J. Jill Suitor is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and a Faculty Associate of the Center on Aging and the Life Course. Her research focuses on interpersonal relations and well-being, particularly relationships between parents and adult children and among adult siblings. She is especially interested in studying these processes in the context of family caregiving. Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Spencer Foundation, and has resulted in the publication of more than 150 journal articles and book chapters.
Read more about Dr. J. Jill Suitor here.