Emily Wang

The transition out of prison and back into the community can be a vulnerable time — especially for people with health conditions. Medical care often takes a back seat to finding housing and employment. Last year, physician and researcher Wang earned a prestigious MacArthur “genius” fellowship recognizing her dedicated efforts to address this dilemma. Back in 2006, she co-founded the first Transitions Clinic to provide primary health care for people who are reentering their communities after incarceration. Grounded in her patients’ experiences and in partnership with formerly incarcerated people, she now leads Yale’s SEICHE Center for Health and Justice to understand how mass incarceration harms population health and how best to prevent and mitigate this harm.