Bio

Thalia Tom is an Equity in Early Education Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University. Her research uses quantitative methods to examine inequality in neighborhoods and schools, with a particular focus on residential and school segregation and racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in educational outcomes. Thalia’s research has been supported by grants from the American Sociological Association and the Russell Sage Foundation. Prior to joining Stanford, Thalia earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Southern California. 

Honors & Awards

  • Paper Award, Alpha Kappa Delta (2026)
  • Russell Endowed Fellowship, University of Southern California (2025)
  • Oakley Endowed Fellowship, University of Southern California (2024)
  • Dissertation Research Grant, Russell Sage Foundation (2023)
  • Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, American Sociological Association (2023)

Professional Education

  • B.A., University of California, Davis, Sociology
  • M.A., University of Southern California, Sociology
  • Ph.D., University of Southern California, Sociology (2026)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    University - Scholar Department: Graduate School of Education Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

All Publications

  • What Drives Educational Segregation and Which Communities Are Affected? Findings from a Decomposition Approach Social Science Research Kye, S., Tom, T. 2026; 133 (103263)

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103263

  • Beyond the Residential Neighborhood: A Scoping Review of Research on Urban Neighborhood Networks Social Science & Medicine Brazil, N., Candipan, J., Levy, B., Tom, T. 2025; 372 (117945)

    View details for DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117945

  • Intersecting Inequalities: Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Differences in Math Achievement and School Contexts in California Social Problems Owens, A., Tom, T. 2024; 71 (3): 720-747

    View details for DOI 10.1093/socpro/spac028

  • Residential Segregation by Education in the U.S.: 2016-2020 Recent Trends in Demographic Data Friedman, S., Tom, T. 2023
  • COVID-19 Vaccine Rollouts and the Reproduction of Urban Spatial Inequality: Disparities Within Large US Cities in March and April 2021 by Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Composition. Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine DiRago, N. V., Li, M., Tom, T., Schupmann, W., Carrillo, Y., Carey, C. M., Gaddis, S. M. 2022; 99 (2): 191-207

    Abstract

    Rollouts of COVID-19 vaccines in the USA were opportunities to redress disparities that surfaced during the pandemic. Initial eligibility criteria, however, neglected geographic, racial/ethnic, and socioeconomic considerations. Marginalized populations may have faced barriers to then-scarce vaccines, reinforcing disparities. Inequalities may have subsided as eligibility expanded. Using spatial modeling, we investigate how strongly local vaccination levels were associated with socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition as authorities first extended vaccine eligibility to all adults. We harmonize administrative, demographic, and geospatial data across postal codes in eight large US cities over 3 weeks in Spring 2021. We find that, although vaccines were free regardless of health insurance coverage, local vaccination levels in March and April were negatively associated with poverty, enrollment in means-tested public health insurance (e.g., Medicaid), and the uninsured population. By April, vaccination levels in Black and Hispanic communities were only beginning to reach those of Asian and White communities in March. Increases in vaccination were smaller in socioeconomically disadvantaged Black and Hispanic communities than in more affluent, Asian, and White communities. Our findings suggest vaccine rollouts contributed to cumulative disadvantage. Populations that were left most vulnerable to COVID-19 benefited least from early expansions in vaccine availability in large US cities.

    View details for DOI 10.1007/s11524-021-00589-0

    View details for PubMedID 35118595

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8812364