Dr. Diane Coffey

Biography

Diane Coffey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a social demographer focusing on health disparities in India. Her research examines the intergenerational transmission of poor population health, particularly the links between gender, stratification, and adverse health outcomes stemming from poor maternal nutrition. Her work highlights the impacts of inadequate sanitation on early life health, mortality, and anemia in developing countries, specifically in rural India where high rates of open defecation persist due to poverty and social forces. A notable publication includes her book titled "India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development, Costs of Caste," co-authored with Dean Spears, which won the Joseph W. Elder Prize in Indian Social Sciences in 2017. Before her tenure at UT, she served as a visiting researcher at the Indian Statistical Institute in New Delhi and co-founded a research non-profit aimed at informing child health policies in India. Diane holds a B.A. in Sociology from Villanova University, an MPA in Development Studies, and a PhD in Public Affairs and Demography from Princeton University.

Research Interests

Courses