Medical Anthropology at the Intersections

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Dr. Marcia Inhorn, Yale University, will convene an international and interdisciplinary conference on medical anthropology. Medical anthropology is a subfield of anthropology that employs social, cultural, biological, and linguistic anthropological methods and theory. Medical anthropologists study how interrelationships between humans and other species, cultural norms and social institutions, and micro and macro politics and economics at multiple scales interact with the health of individuals, larger social formations, and the environment. The field is now just fifty years old. The overarching agenda of this conference is to consider what medical anthropology has contributed to basic scientific research and to create new research agendas and collaborations for the future. The four day conference will be anchored by thirteen plenary speakers who will highlight the potential for future research in the most significant research areas. The speakers will report on the social science of health research from a variety of perspetives, including inequality, science and technology, genomics, bioethics, and the science of public policy. The conference also will provide a forum for the dissemination of new findings and the development of international collaborations through research working group sessions. A special student poster session will provide an opportunity for senior medical anthropologists to offer constructive feedback to the next generation of scientists. This conference is important because the last half-century of research has shown that across the globe, social and cultural institutions, not just medical practice, have significant influence in human and community health. This conference will bring together the very best researchers in this area to move the field forward at a time of critical need.