Dr. Leia Belt

Dr. Leia Belt, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts' (SSHA) Department of Sociology since January 2024. She holds an interdisciplinary PhD specializing in Medical Sociology and Social Epidemiology from the University of Iowa. Her research is dedicated to quantifying the impact of structural inequalities, with interests spanning various domains, including the examination of structural racism within health, technology, and higher education curricula. Her work is characterized by a Du Boisian mixed-methods approach, with a distinctive emphasis on community engagement and the use of unique and interactive visualizations. Dr. Belt is an Ignite the Spark Scholars Program (ISSP) fellow through the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity (CARHE) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, which was founded to explore, understand, and ultimately dismantle structural racism through research, community engagement, and narrative change. Professor Yen is an advisor for Dr. Belt’s Ignite the Spark Scholars’ project.