Katie R. Billings is an assistant professor of sociology at Skidmore College where she conducts research at the intersections of law & society, medical sociology, and mental health. Her research focuses on how inequalities in health and law are created and perpetuated, with a particular interest in their overlap. For example, her current research interrogates criminal justice responses to mental health crisis calls and how mental health providers navigate legal concerns during suicide care provision. She is currently working on a book project titled Surviving Suicide which draws on 102 interviews with people who have survived suicidal crises and suicide attempts. Her book explores the ways individuals, institutions, and society can prevent people from considering suicide in the first place and better care for those who already have attempted. 

Billings’ research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the American Sociological Association Culture Section, and she was recognized as the most promising junior health scholar by the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Sciences in 2024. Her research is published in the Law & Society Review, Journal of Health & Social Behavior, Social Science & Medicine, Sociological Perspectives, and The Utah Law Review.  

Billings has been an active member of the Law and Society Association for nine years. She proudly served as the Editorial Assistant for the Law & Society Review from 2019 to 2023, is a former Graduate Fellow at the UMass Center for Justice, Law, & Societies, and has organized numerous panels at the Association’s annual meetings.