Michelle van Ryn is an American health researcher who is the Grace Phelps Distinguished Professor at the

Oregon Health & Science University Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is a public university, public research university, research university focusing primarily on health sciences with a main campus, including two hospitals, in Portland, Oregon. The institution was founded ...

. Her research considers the social determinants of health and equity in healthcare. She demonstrated that physicians' perceptions of patients was impacted by their socio-demographic status. She is the founder of Diversity Sciences, a consultancy company who provide evidence-based training for organizations looking to eliminate bias.

Early life and education

Van Ryn was an undergraduate at the

University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state governmental umbrella organization that oversees all educational institutions, including schools, libraries, and museums in New York State. It is governed by the Board of Regents. D ...

, Regents College (now

Excelsior University Excelsior University is a private online university in Albany, New York. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and comprises three schools: the school of undergraduate studies, the school of graduate studies, and the school of nursing. ...

). She moved to the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

for her graduate studies, joining the School of Public Health. She stayed at Michigan for her doctoral research, which looked at how manipulating the self-efficacy of unemployed people impacted their job searching behavior.

Research and career

Van Ryn joined the faculty at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. She was based in the Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research, where she investigated disparities in healthcare. She spent thirteen years in Minnesota before moving to the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

. She served as Professor of Health Services Research at the Mayo, where she led a program on Equity and Inclusion in healthcare. In 201,7 van Ryn moved to

as the Grace Phelps Distinguished Professor. Van Ryn studied how physicians' perceptions about patients are impacted by ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and how this impacts the quality of care patients receive. Her research showed that physicians' perceptions were influenced by the socio-demographics of their patients, and that they perceived African-Americans more negatively than white patients. She also showed that physicians' perceptions of

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

patients was shaped by their interaction with LGBT people during medical school. Van Ryn founded Diversity Science, an organization that looked to accelerate equity and inclusion through evidenced-based approaches. The organization create training programs and policy documents that promote equity in healthcare, which have been deployed in California, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota and Washington. In New York City, Black women are 12 times more likely to die during childcare than their white counterparts. She worked with the

California Health Care Foundation Based in Oakland, California, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) is an independent, nonprofit philanthropy that focuses on improving the health care system for the people of California, especially low-income Californians. The organiza ...

to develop an e-learning course to challenge bias in maternity care.

Selected publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ryn, Michelle Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Michigan alumni Oregon Health & Science University faculty American medical researchers 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American women medical researchers 20th-century American scientists 21st-century American scientists