Alex K. Torrez (They/Them) is a Chancellor’s Fellow, and first year graduate student in the Sociology Department.

They are broadly interested in questions at the nexus of Identity Classifications such as race, gender, and sexuality, Medical Sociology, Science and Technology Studies, and Organizations. Currently, these interests have led Alex to explore understandings of care in clinical settings, genomics, and the development of recruitment strategies for scientific study and organ donation.

Before joining the UC Berkeley Sociology department, Alex received a fully-funded Bridge to the Doctorate Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship (B2D ‘22-’24) in Sociology at the University of Virginia. Alex obtained their Bachelors in Political Science with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley in 2020 as a California Community College transfer student. Following graduation from UC Berkeley, Alex held professional positions at University of California, Davis and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

As Alex begins their first year at UC Berkeley, they will continue in their position as a Research Assistant for Dr. Wendy Roth’s (University of Pennsylvania) and Ariela Schachter’s (University of Washington - St. Louis) NIH R21 Grant: “How Does Genetic Ancestry Testing Affect Perceptions of Race?” Additionally, Alex will continue to collaborate with Dr. Melissa Thomas-Hunt’s Connection Lab and Dr. Ayana Younge (Darden Business School, University of Virginia) to examine connection and belonging strategy differences in organizations.

Alex holds a position with the University of California, Berkeley’s Gender Equity Resource Center (GenEq) as a Graduate Assistant for the LGBTQ+ grad programming and trans/nonbinary campus initiatives.