Department of Geography and Planning

Education

• Ph.D. Candidate, Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• M.A., Geography, Appalachian State University
• B.S., Geography, University of Vermont 

Research Interests

Sophie Ryan is a Climate and Health Research Fellow supported by the National Academy of Sciences, under the mentorship of Dr. Maggie Sugg. Trained as a medical geographer, Ryans research examines the complex mental health impacts of extreme weather events, using large-scale health and weather data to model the spatiotemporal relationships between weather exposure and community health outcomes. Ryan's published work spans topics such as the geographies of mental health, adolescent mental health and greenspace, and the association between heat and mental health. She is currently exploring the mental health effects of multiple extreme weather events and the well-being of community volunteers in Western North Carolina following Hurricane Helene.

Publications

Ryan, S.C., Wertis, L., Runkle, J.D., Sugg, M.M (2025). A Distributed Lag Non-linear Model of Acute Exposure to Extreme Cold and Hot Temperatures and Mental Health Outcomes in North Carolina. International Journal of Biometeorology. (Under Review).

Ryan, S.C., Runkle, J.D., Thompson, M., and Sugg, M.M. (2025). Quasi-experimental evaluation of mental health distress among transgender and gender nonconforming youth after Hurricane Ian (2022). Journal of Gay and Lesbian Health. (Under Review).

Ryan, S.C., Bengchi-Sen, S., Karp, D., Thompson, M.T., Runkle, J.D., and Sugg, M.M. (2025). Risk of substance use emergency department visits among young people: Effect modification by neighborhood context and COVID-19. Health and Place (Under Review).

Ryan, S.C., Runkle, J.D., Hefner, M., and Sugg, M.M (2025). Nighttime air temperature exposure and heat-related illness risk: A small area distributed lag non-linear approach. Population and Environment. (Submitted).   

Ryan, S.C., Thompson, M.T., Sugg, M.M. and Runkle, J.D. (2025). Disparities in suicide risk trajectories among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Research on Adolescence. (Submitted).

Thompson, M.T., Gilbert, C., Kennedy, S., Kingree, C., Langlais, A., Roy, M., and Ryan, S.C. (2025) COVID-19 pandemic and youth suicide risk: A scoping review. BMC Public Health. (Submitted). 

Ryan, S. C., Sugg, M. M., Runkle, J. D., & Thapa, B. (2024). Advancing Understanding on Greenspace and Mental Health in Young People. GeoHealth.  https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000959

Fehlman, C. A., Ryan, S.C., Lysne, K.G., Rundgren, Q.M., Spurlock, T.J., Orbison, R.O., Runkle, J.D., and Sugg, M.M.  (2024). Scoping review of the societal impacts of compound climate events. Discover Environment. (Accepted).

Sugg, M.M., Ryan, S.C., Ulrich, S.E., Thompson, M.T., and Runkle, J.D. (2024). Psychiatric Emergency Department Visits  Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Youth in North Carolina: A Neighborhood-Level Analysis. Health and Place. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103379. 

Lucero, C., Thompson, M.T., Ryan, S.C., Runkle, J.D., and Sugg, M.M. (2024). Spatiotemporal Patterns of Youth Isolation  and Loneliness in the US: A Geospatial Analysis of Crisis Text Line Data (2016-2022). GeoJournal. 10.1007/s10708-02411253-w

Ryan, S.C., Sugg, M.M, Runkle, J.D., Wertis, L., Singh, D., Green, S. and M. Meagher (2024). Short-term changes in mental health help-seeking behaviors following exposure to multiple social stressors and a natural disaster. Social Science and Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116843

Ryan S.C., Runkle, J.D., Wertis, M.L., and Sugg, M.M. (2024). Place-based differences in the association between greenspace and suicide-related outcomes among young people. Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.03.014

Runkle, J.D., Berry, A., Reed, C., Cowan, K., Ryan, S.C., Wertis, L., and Sugg, M.M. (2024). Association of Psychiatric Emergency Visits and Warm Ambient Temperature during Pregnancy: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study. Environmental Health Perspectives.  https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1329

Sugg, M.M., Runkle J.D., Ryan, S.C., Singh, D., Green, S., and Thompson, M., (2023) A follow-up retrospective analysis of  essential workers and their children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic: 2020 - 2021. Public Health Reports. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033354922114817

Ryan, S.C., M. M. Sugg, J.D. Runkle and Matthews, J., (2023) Ecological analysis of greenspace and mental health in North Carolina: Consideration of rural and urban neighborhoods. Family and Community Health. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000363

Sugg, M.M., Wertis, L. Ryan, S.C., Green, S., Singh, D., and J.D Runkle, (2023). Cascading Disasters and Mental Health: The  February 2021 Winter Storm and Power Crisis in Texas, USA. Science of the Total Environment.  10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163231

Ryan S.C., Sugg, M.M. and J.D. Runkle (2023). “Association between urban greenspace, tree canopy cover and intentional deaths: An exploratory geospatial analysis”. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.128015

Ryan, S.C., Desjardins, M., Runkle, J.D., Wertis, L., Sugg, M.M. (2023) "Evaluating Co-Occurring Space-Time Clusters of   Depression and Suicide-Related Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic". Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sste.2023.100607

Ulrich, S.E., Runkle, J.D., Ryan, S.C., and Sugg, M.M. (2023). Mapping High-Risk Clusters and Identifying Place-Based Risk Factors of Mental Health Burden in Pregnancy. Social Science and Medicine – Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100270

Sugg, M.M., Runkle J.D., Ryan, S.C., and Wertis, L., (2023) “The Causal Effects of Maternal Health and   Extreme Disasters: A Difference-In Difference Analysis of the South Carolina 2015 Floods”. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.104037

Sugg, M.M., Ryan, S.C., Spurlock, T., Hege, A., Chidozie Ogwu, M., Schroeder Tyson, J., Shay, E., Renwick, K., Duncan, S.,  Hendren, C.O., Runkle, J.D., and R. Manan (2023). "Climate Change and Health in Rural Mountain Environments: Summary of a Workshop on Knowledge Gaps, Barriers, and Opportunities for Action". GeoJournal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708023-10916-4

Ryan, S.C., J.D. Runkle, M. M. Sugg, D. Singh, S. Green, and L. Wertis., (2022) “Spatio-temporal clustering of adolescent bereavement in the United States during the extended response to COVID-19: A follow-up study”. Journal of Adolescent Health. 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.08.021

Ryan, S.C., Runkle, J.D., Andersen, L.M., Sugg, M.M. (2022) “Spatial analysis of mental health and suicide clustering among older adults in North Carolina: An exploratory analysis”. Social Science and Medicine -Mental Health.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100162