Brad Ray is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Studies in Justice, Culture, & Social Change at the University of Minnesota Duluth. He holds a BA in Sociology from Northern Michigan University, a MA in Sociology from DePaul University (Chicago), and a PhD in Sociology and Anthropology from North Carolina State University. Brad’s training includes quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and he has been principal investigator on research grants from the NIH, CDC, NSF, and NIJ, conducting randomized trials, integrating large data administrative data, and studying the implementation of evidence-based strategies at the intersection of public health and public safety.
Education
- PhD in Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, 2012
- MA in Sociology, DePaul University, 2004
- BA in Sociology, Northern Michigan University, 2002
Select Recent Scholarly Publications
Bradley Ray, Shane Sheets, Patti Constant, Pranav Athimuthu, Mia-Cara Christopher, and Monica M. Desjardins. (2025). "Examining trends in polydrug overdose deaths across rural Midwest counties in the United States, 2022 through 2024." Drug and Alcohol Dependence, pp. 112832.
Alex H. Kral, Jamie L. Humphrey, Clyde Schwab, Barrot H. Lambdin, and Bradley Ray. (2025). "Law enforcement drug seizures and Opioid-Involved overdose mortality." JAMA Network Open, 8(3), e251158-e251158.
Barrett Wallace Montgomery, Pranav Athimuthu, Nicholas Richardson, and Bradley Ray. (2025). "State adult-use cannabis policy effects on law enforcement efforts to disrupt drug markets." International Journal of Drug Policy, 140 (1), pp. 104802.
Evan Marie Lowder, Eric Grommon, Katie Bailey, and Bradley Ray. (2024). "Police-mental health co-response versus police-as-usual response to behavioral health emergencies: A pragmatic randomized effectiveness trial." Social Science & Medicine, 345, pp. 116723.
Bradley Ray, Steven J. Korzeniewski, George Mohler, Jennifer J. Carroll, Brandon Del Pozo, Grant Victor, Philip Huynh, and Bethany J. Hedden. (2023). "Spatiotemporal analysis exploring the effect of law enforcement drug market disruptions on overdose, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2020–2021." American Journal of Public Health, 113 (7), pp. 750-758.
Areas of Focus
- Overdose Prevention
- Harm Reduction
- Criminal-Legal Systems
- Behavioral Health
- Public Health
- Medical Sociology
- Criminology
Courses Taught Regularly
- Criminological Theory