Missives from MASSH TIG

MASSH (Medical Anthropologists and Social Scientists in Health) was founded in September 2022 with the goal of promoting professional development, research collaboration, and educational opportunities for members. In our first almost-year of existence, we have hosted two “MASSH Connections” virtual events (featuring Dr. Allison Hamilton and Dr. Lenore Manderson) and sponsored multiple panels at SfAA 2023. You can stay updated on the latest happenings by joining our listserv at https://groups.google.com/g/anthrosinhealth.

MASSH Connections 

Our next MASSH Connections virtual event will be in September with Dr. Aimee R. Eden, Acting Director of the U.S. National Center for Excellence in Primary Care Research and Senior Staff Service Fellow at the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ).​​​​​​​

(Still) Seeking Students/Trainees

We are (still!) seeking 1-2 students/trainees to serve on our Executive Committee. We define “student/trainee” broadly to include undergraduates, recent graduates, Master and doctoral students, postdocs, research assistants, and/or anyone who is just getting started in the world of applied medical anthropology. We would like to have student/trainee input into planning our activities and shaping the future of MASSH. Please email co-chairs Linda Kahn (lskahn@buffalo.edu) and Ellen Rubinstein (ellen.rubinstein@aya.yale.edu) with a brief letter of interest and a current c.v.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Meet the Executive Committee:

Abigail Baim-Lance (PhD, Anthropology) is a research health scientist with the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center at the JJP Bronx VA Medical Center and an assistant professor with the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. When she's not trying to remember all of that (!), Abigail is taming a rambunctious garden with her new weedwacker and reading Louise Penny’s addictive novels.​​​​​​​

Eileen Dryden is a research health scientist (and applied anthropologist) with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), in Bedford, MA, whose work focuses on caregivers of older, rural Veterans and the VA’s transformation to a Whole Health System of Care. She loves to run but has recently been sidelined by injury and is now trying to become a swimmer—at least until she can get back to running!​​​​​​​

Gemmae Fix (PhD), MASSH Organizer, is a research health scientist with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR), in Bedford, MA, as well as a research assistant professor at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. When she is not working, she likes to get up and out with the birds to run, hike, and explore nature.​​​​​​​

Katinka Hooyer (PhD, MS) is a medical anthropologist and an assistant professor in the Center for Healthy Communities and Research, Family Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin. As an arts/humanities-based researcher, she works mainly in the field of mental health, designing culturally tailored interventions with her community partners that challenge stigma and promote well-being. She collaborates most often with Veterans, studying their experiences with non-clinical therapies and co-designing opportunities for healing moral injury and military trauma. She is trying to re-learn roller-skating but is more coordinated on a bicycle. ​​​​​​​

Linda Kahn, MASSH Co-Chair, is Research Professor and Associate Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family Medicine, University at Buffalo, where she conducts research to improve the care of people with complex medical and behavioral health conditions in underserved settings, including the criminal justice system. In her free time, she runs around her neighborhood, dropping off Narcan in “Little Libraries” (an initiative that began during COVID), and speaks French to squirrels to maintain fluency in her second language.​​​​​​​

Nolan Kline is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. When he’s not working, he likes to spend time outside hiking or exercising. At home, he’s often cooking or playing amateur bartender by making classic cocktails.​​​​​​​

Lance Laird (ThD, MDiv—go figure) is Assistant Director of the MS Program in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, where his research focuses on intersections of religion, culture, and public health among immigrant and minoritized communities in the U.S. He enjoys baking, biking, hiking, singing, and volunteering for just about everything at the church where his wife is pastor.​​​​​​​

Genevra Murray is a medical anthropologist and Assistant Professor of Public Health Policy and Management at New York University’s School of Global Public Health. Her work explores organizational dimensions of health care delivery system reform and their implications for vulnerable populations in the U.S. and Turkey. She loves to bake and to share her confections with a side of tea and conversation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Ellen Rubinstein, MASSH Co-Chair, is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Dakota State University, where she conducts research on various health-related issues in the rural U.S. Midwest (e.g., vaccine hesitancy; pharmacy practice) and urban Japan (e.g., mental health; family caregiving). She often finds herself chasing after her boisterous rescue pup in the name of training for half- (and sometimes full) marathons. ​​​​​​​

Aaron Seaman (PhD) is an assistant professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Iowa and a research health scientist with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Center for Access & Delivery Research and Evaluation at the Iowa City VA Health Care System. He brings an anthropological perspective to understanding and evaluating care delivery in a variety of contexts, including rural cancer care, cancer survivorship, dementia and caregiving, and home health. When not doing this, he’s likely thinking about what meal to make next or puttering in the garden.​​​​​​​

Pete Taber is an assistant professor in the University of Utah Department of Biomedical Informatics, where he applies a longstanding interest in the anthropology of expertise to the development and implementation of clinical decision support technologies. He enjoys exploring the Intermountain West with his partner and spends much of his free time catering to the whims of their beagle and pitbull mixes.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Teresa Winstead (PhD) is a research scientist with the University of Washington Medical School, in the Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute, and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Saint Martin’s University, where she is chair of the Department of Society and Social Justice. Her research focuses on harm reduction practices related to opioid use. When not working, she loves to be out hiking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and is known for making tasty galettes with seasonal fruits and veggies!