I am on the job market!

I study the concurrence of social connections and experiences of health, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. My dissertation explores how medical authority is collectively generated and can produce new forms of illness trajectories. I examine mental health self-diagnosis – identifying with a mental illness without a formal diagnosis – as a case study of this process.

I collaborate on a wide range of projects — including on adolescent health, political polarization and network methods — whose common thread is understanding the origins and impact of relationships. I also develop analytical tools that help new scholars enter the social networks field and make teaching networks more effective. Check out our social network analysis package IDEANet here! You can also check out resources from Duke’s annual Social Networks and Health workshop, including some of my recorded talks!

Research

2025

Varela, 2025, Social Science and Medicine.

Balancing Accessibility and Familiarity with Technological Tools in the Introduction of Network Analysis to Undergraduates
Wolff, Eastwood, Varela, under review.

2024

Malcontented ministers: Political mismatch and occupational distress among United Methodist Clergy
Varela, Eagle, Hess*, King*, under review.

Network determinants of relationship influence on HIV prevention decision-making among people in the social networks of women who have experienced incarceration in the US
Knittel, Varela, Ferguson, Hulshult, Jackson, Moody, Adimora, 2024, PLoS One.

Studying Systematic Deviations from Cultural Consensus about Occupations: The Duality of Occupation Meanings and Americans’ Meaning Communities
Combs, Varela, Robinson, Smith-Lovin, Vaisey, under review.

2023

Copeland, Kamis and Varela, 2023, Social Science and Medicine.

Perceived Gender and Political Persuasion: A Field Experiment during the 2020 Democratic National Primary
Combs, Tierney, Alqabandi, Cornell, Varela, Araújo, Argyle, Bail, Volfovsky, 2023, Nature Scientific Reports.

2022

Varela, Swanson, Pasquale, Mohanan, Moody, 2022, Socius.

In progress

Varela, presented at SSS 2024, Sunbelt 2024 and ASA 2024.

IDEANet: Integrating Data Exchange and Analysis for Networks
Wolff, Morgan, Varela, Pasquale, Moody, Mucha, presented at Sunbelt 2023.

Sleep Chronotype and Duration Clustering among College Students
Varela, Robbins, in progress.

Teaching and Mentorship

Teaching Assistant - "Networks and management"
Instructed by James Moody - Spring 2024 | Spring 2025

Finalist - Bass Connections Mentorship Award
April 2023

Teaching Assistant - "Politics & Polarization in Mainline Protestant Congregations"
Bass Connections - September 2022 - May 2023. Associated publication with mentored students.

Mentor - "Sexualization in Children's TV shows | Mental Illness and Suicide among teenagers in South Korea"
Mentor Matching Engine - September 2020 - April 2021

Teaching Assistant - "Mapping Controversies"
Medialab, Sciences-Po Paris - October 2015 – April 2016

Talks