Medical Sociology on Wheels

Heather Sue is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia graduating in May 2023.

Her dissertation, titled, “What do the People Say? Tweeting as a tool for establishing the social facts of risk during COVID-19,” is part of a larger ongoing research project aimed at establishing a comprehensive overview of the “social facts” of COVID-19 risk and mitigation that accounts for change over time. Her prior research has assessed the robustness of the DSM diagnostic protocol for Major Depressive Episode (MDE) for people diagnosed with arthritis, and separately, the applicability to the Labeling Theory of Social Interaction and Identity to explain differences in how existing literature discusses opioid use by disabled versus non-disabled patients.

Heather Sue earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Auburn University in 2011, with minors in History and French. She received her Master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Georgia in 2018. After graduation, she plans to leave higher education to continue her research on COVID-19 risk/mitigation as an independent scientist to devote more time to disability rights activism.

Research-based Publications
– “What do the People Say? Tweeting as a tool for establishing the social facts of risk during COVID-19”
-“The Seeded Structural Topic Model”
-“Emotion and Covid-19 Risk Mitigation”
-“Combatting popular misconceptions about covid-19 risk and prevention”

Covid-19 Prevention/Eradication Efforts
– WHN Mask Selfie Project
– #IMaskBecause Series