Ashley Gromis (she/her) is an associate behavioral/social scientist at RAND. Her work examines the roles of networks, place, and policy in shaping community- and population-level health outcomes and social inequality. Her primary research uses systems science methods (e.g., agent-based modeling, simulations) to understand how spatial clustering of children not up-to-date with vaccinations affects the potential for disease outbreaks. She is particularly interested in how social networks and local communities influence perceived infection risk and vaccination decisions for influenza, COVID-19, HPV, and routine childhood immunizations. More broadly, Gromis has applied her methodological skills to examine prevalence and socio-demographic disparities in housing eviction lawsuits and spatial clusters of public reports of Unidentified Areal Phenomena (UAPs, formerly known as UFOs). She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology (University of California, Los Angeles), an MS in Health Policy and Management (University of California, Los Angeles), and BAs in Sociology and History (Pennsylvania State University).
Ph.D. in sociology, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA); M.S. in health policy and management, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA); M.A. in sociology, University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA); B.A. in sociology, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
