This fall, 14 new researchers and instructors join four social science departments and programs in Arts & Sciences. Read about our new faculty members in the humanities and natural sciences.
Welcome to our incoming faculty!
Department of Economics
Julie Holland Mortimer joins the Department of Economics as the James Langenfeld Professor of Industrial Organization. She studies the delivery of goods to consumers, including manufacturer-retailer contracts, the effects of stock outages, and media content distribution. She was previously the Kenneth G. Elzinga Professor of Economics and the Law at the University of Virginia, and she continues to serve as a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles.
David Rivers joins the Department of Economics as an associate professor. He was previously an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario. His research interests include industrial organization, productivity, the economics of crime, applied econometrics, and applied microeconomics. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Productivity Analysis. Rivers earned his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.
Emilie McHugh Rivers joins the Department of Economics as a senior lecturer. She was previously a lecturer at the University of Western Ontario. Her teaching interests include microeconomics, macroeconomics, and urban economics. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin—Madison.
Guanyi Wang joins the Department of Economics as an assistant professor. Wang’s research focuses on econometrics, applied microeconomics, social networks, and statistical decision theory. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Liverpool and his master’s and doctoral degrees from University College London.
Department of Political Science
Juan Dodyk joins the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor. As a political economist, he specializes in climate policy and lobbying, using formal modeling, original data collection, and causal inference to advance understanding of these issues. His research examines how policymakers craft climate policies to counter industry opposition, how interest groups form coalitions for more effective lobbying, and how family firms gain political power in developing countries. He earned a mathematics degree from the University of Buenos Aires and a doctoral degree from Harvard University.
Shiran Victoria Shen joins the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor. She studies how institutions and incentives influence climate and environmental actions. Her work has been published by leading journals and university presses, and she has received awards from the American Political Science Association, the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and the International Public Policy Association. Before coming to WashU, she was a National Fellow at the Hoover Institution and led the China Energy Program at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Shen earned her bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a joint degree from Stanford University, where she was the first to earn a master’s in civil and environmental engineering alongside a doctorate in political science.
Ophelia Vedder joins the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor. Her work in political theory focuses on feminism and liberalism. Her research uses gender as a lens to explore political problems about liberal legitimacy, distributive justice, social equality, autonomy, and the nature of work. Vedder earned her bachelor’s degree from Reed College and her doctorate from Princeton University.
Elaine Yao joins the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor. She specializes in formal theory and comparative politics. Her research examines how group decision-making processes shape collective action, with applications to protest movements, intra-elite conflict, and legislative bargaining. She also has a regional focus on Chinese politics and authoritarian regimes. Yao earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and her doctoral degree from Princeton University.
Program in Public Health & Society
Chen Reis joins the Program in Public Health & Society as a professor of practice. A transdisciplinary practitioner, scholar, and teacher, she brings more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of public health, international human rights, and humanitarian studies. Her work on sexual violence in humanitarian settings has uniquely combined policy development, advocacy, and mixed methods research, influencing international and organizational policy and practice. Through her work with the World Health Organization, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Women’s Refugee Commission, Reis has been instrumental in developing guidance and designing international systems. She earned her master’s in public health degree from Johns Hopkins University, her law degree from Columbia University School of Law, and her doctorate from the University of New South Wales.
Rose Sommerhauser joins the Program in Public Health & Society as a visiting lecturer. Formerly a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at WashU, she studies the diversity and distribution patterns of primate communities inhabiting varying environments. Her research highlights the forces shaping these communities and informs conservation strategies. Additionally, her work illuminates social determinants of health and guides evidence-based public health interventions. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida Atlantic University and her doctorate from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Department of Sociology
Liz Chiarello joins the Department of Sociology as an associate professor. Her research bridges medical sociology, socio-legal scholarship, science and technology studies, and organizational theory. Her recent award-winning book, “Policing Patients: Treatment and Surveillance on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis” (Princeton University Press, 2024), examines how technology used to curb the opioid crisis blurs boundaries between healthcare and criminal justice. Chiarello earned her bachelor’s degree from Trinity University, her master’s degree from the University of Oregon, her doctorate from the University of California, Irvine, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University. She is a former Radcliffe Fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Chaeyoon Lim joins the Department of Sociology as a professor. His research and teaching explore civic engagement, religion, social capital, social movements, and public opinion. His work has been published in leading journals, including American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and Sociological Science. Before joining WashU, Lim was a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Seoul National University and a doctorate from Harvard University.
Mira Vale joins the Department of Sociology as an assistant professor. She examines how emerging technologies shape the practice and provision of health care, drawing on approaches from economic sociology, medical sociology, and science and technology studies. Her current research focuses on the ethics of digital health as AI and machine learning tools are adapted for clinical use. Vale earned her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan.
