Dr. Kristina Brant

Biography

Kristina P. Brant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education at Pennsylvania State University. She earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2021, following her Master's degree in 2018 and Bachelor's in 2014, also from Harvard and the University of Chicago, respectively. Her research focuses on rural sociology, specifically addressing issues related to substance use, rural poverty, and public health. Brant's work interrogates the complexities of substance use within family units and examines the rural risk environments that contribute to vulnerabilities related to substance use harms. Her current projects involve exploring broadband access and its relation to substance use harms in rural Appalachia, as well as assessing the effects of climate change on these issues. Furthermore, she is actively engaged in projects that aim to support kinship families and develop recovery-friendly workplace initiatives. Her research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, including the American Sociological Review and the International Journal of Drug Policy, and has received funding from institutions such as USDA NIFA, NIH, and NSF. In her role as an Extension faculty member, Brant collaborates with educators and service providers to support vulnerable populations, particularly those impacted by substance use.

Research Interests

Experience