Alondra Nelson is an acclaimed sociologist, policy advisor, author, and researcher who explores questions of science, technology, and social inequality. She was the first African American and first woman of color to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, as well as the first African American and first person of color to lead the Social Science Research Council.
Professional positions
- 2019–present: Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study
- 2021–2023: Principal deputy director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (under President Joe Biden)
- 2009–2019: Associate (2009–2013) and full (2013–2019) professor of sociology and gender studies, Columbia University
- 2003–2009: Assistant professor of African American studies and sociology, Yale University
Notable publications
- Nelson, Alondra. 2016. The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation after the Genome. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
- Wailoo, Keith, Alondra Nelson, and Catherine Lee, eds. 2012. Genetics and the Unsettled Past: The Collision of DNA, Race, and History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
- Nelson, Alondra. 2011. Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
- Nelson, Alondra, and Thuy Linh N. Tu, with Alicia Headlam Hines, eds. 2001. Technicolor: Race, Technology, and Everyday Life. New York, NY: NYU Press.
Degrees
- PhD, American studies, New York University
- MPhil, American studies, New York University
- BA, anthropology, University of California, San Diego
