I’m Lawrence Stacey, and I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Vanderbilt University. I am also Associate Director of the LGBTQ+ Policy Lab and affiliated with the Center for Research on Inequality and Health. I received my PhD in Sociology from the Ohio State University in August 2023.

I am a sociologist and demographer whose research investigates core issues of inequality and health in the contemporary United States. Substantively, my research is concentrated in the areas of gender, sexuality, families, and health. Three overarching questions animate my research agenda. First, to what extent do LGBTQ+ populations experience health and well-being disparities compared to their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts, and how and why do those disparities vary by institutional contexts, historical time, and over the life course? Second, how are gender and sexuality shaped within the family context and by parents’ attitudes and actions? And third, given the importance of childhood as a pivotal stage in the life course, what are the consequences of childhood adversity for well-being, relationships, and parenting?

My research has been published in Social Forces, Demography, Sociological Science, Social Science & Medicine, and Journal of Marriage and Family, among other outlets. You can find my CV here.