From left: Mark Pachucki (Sociology), and Nicole VanKim (Biostatistics & Epidemiology)
For years, law enforcement and the criminal justice system have been criticized from a social justice perspective. But what if, beyond the negative social outcomes, these systems were fundamentally damaging people’s health?
What if police discrimination was hurting people at the deepest level – indeed, literally, in their very cells?
While social justice activism and research have clearly demonstrated the problems of over-policing, particularly in Black communities, little research has been done on the actual impact of the chronic stress of this policing on people at the cellular level.
What is the impact of police-induced chronic stress on the body? Can this stress lead to health problems, or even shorten lifespans? In what ways, ultimately, does policing constitute a social determinant of health? These are the kinds of questions that this ambitious project aims to answer.
Working in partnership with Tulane University and Emory University and leaning on data from the Black Women’s Experiences Living with Lupus (BeWell) project, this team of UMass Amherst faculty and graduate students will examine the association between police discrimination and cellular aging.
Ultimately, the team will determine whether the justice system is shortening lives. By illuminating the biological ramifications of police discrimination, this project will provide further evidence for the need for police reform and inform health interventions in Black communities.