About Me
​​​​​Kendall Riley is a PhD candidate of sociology at the University of Iowa. She adopts an interdisciplinary approach in her scholarship, often using sociological, social epidemiological, and sociolegal theories to inform her research on how structural conditions—and the social contexts they produce—shape health. Her work often focuses on societal disinvestment, racism, and institutions of social control as causes of health inequalities. Riley has used multiple methods in research, with a specific expertise in regression analyses, multilevel and cluster analyses, and structural equation modeling. Her research has been published in Social Science and Medicine, Journal of Aging and Health, and the Journal of Crime and Justice.
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Riley earned her M.A. in sociology from the University of Iowa. She also holds dual B.S. degrees in Human Biology and Psychology from Indiana University and began laying the groundwork for her scholarship during her undergraduate career. Her research experiences and coursework at Indiana University highlighted how racialized and gendered societal ideologies shape individual-level health and disease risk through social policy, exposure to environmental toxins, and risk for adverse experiences including incarcerations. These early experiences were foundational to her current research that examines how biological processes, such as aging, are shaped by the social world.
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Riley is dedicated to supporting students using pedagogical philosophies that reject ableism to help build a more equitable and inclusive discipline. She often tributes her career trajectory to her mentors, beginning in her undergraduate studies. These mentors solidified her commitment to helping students explore social phenomena from multiple disciplinary and methodological perspectives. While earning her doctoral degree, Riley has invested in spaces to support students and unveil the hidden curriculum. She founded the University of Iowa’s Criminology Workshop to reveal the underlying expectations of academia and cultivate community. Riley has also served as a formal mentor for several doctoral and undergraduate students through various institutional mentorship programs.