Ryan Weightman
Appointment Details
- Priority Area: Health Equity and Advancing STEM Diversity
- Disciplines: Mathematical Epidemiology, Health Disparities Research
- Mentor: Dr. Panos Georgopoulos
- Mentor's Disciplines: Computational Chemodynamics, Exposure and Risk Modeling, Modeling of Complex Environmental and Biological Systems
- School: School of Public Health
- Department: Environmental and Occupational Health and Justice
About Ryan Weightman
Ryan's research spans the intersection of applied mathematics, computational biology, and public health, with a focus on developing data-driven models to understand and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases. In his past work, he has explored mathematical methods for representing the heterogeneity that exists in a population in order to build higher fidelity epidemiological models. Ryan has also studied the effects of social and environmental disparities on disease transmission and outcomes. During his fellowship at Rutgers, he plans to expand this work by investigating how behavioral, cultural, and socioeconomic factors influence disease dynamics. His goal is to develop scalable, interpretable models that inform equitable and effective health policy, with applications to diseases and with a continued emphasis on addressing health disparities in underserved populations.
Beyond his research, Ryan is a committed educator. He earned his teaching certificate in 2018 and has since taught a variety of undergraduate mathematics courses in the Rutgers–Camden Department of Mathematical Sciences. Ryan is passionate about supporting students from all backgrounds and views teaching as a vital part of his academic mission. As he continues to pursue his own path, he welcomes every opportunity to mentor and empower others on theirs.