My research interests revolve around gender and health, with a particular focus on men and reproductive health in Guatemala and Latin America. I am interested in conducting biosocial research, examining both epidemiological patterns of disease and the structures of inequality that produce them. I argue that individual and group experiences of illness, as mediated by culture, interact with exposure factors such as structural inequalities.
My dissertation research, which began in December 2001 and ended in December 2004, examines K'iche' Mayan men's influences on maternal and infant health. Specifically, I examine the ways in which a genocidal civil war fought in the 70s, 80s and 90s has affected and disrupted attitudes and behaviors influencing reproductive health outcomes, while at the same time investigating men's experiences of reproduction and family health. My dissertation research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education/Fulbright-Hays, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.
In addition to my anthropological research, I will receive an MPH in epidemiology from the Rollins School of Public Health. I conducted my thesis research while working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Division of Oral Health as an ORISE fellow. My thesis work has involved analyses of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System data, examining associations between socioeconomic indicators and dental health care utilization during pregnancy.