Oliver Rollins is Postdoctoral Fellow in the Penn Program for Race, Science and Society, and is currently based in the Center for Africana Studies. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco in 2014. His research intersects three strands of sociological study: sociology of health and illness; science, knowledge and technology studies; and race/ethnicity and racism. Currently, he is working on completing a book manuscript from his dissertation research concerning the social and ethical implications of neuroscience research on violent and aggressive behaviors. This research examines how neuroimaging research on the determinants of violence and aggression are formulated and structured; traces how neuroscientists understand and use race in their research on violent and aggressive behaviors; and explores the continued controversies, rebuttals and uncertainties surrounding technoscientific research of and biomedical interventions for violence and aggression. In addition, he has research and teaching interests in: racial/gendered inequalities in health, violence prevention strategies and policy, and knowledge production in biomedicine, criminal justice, and public health.
Contact: orollins@sas.upenn.edu