Dr Michelle Pentecost
Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Global Health
Research interests
- Child & Family
- Medicine
- Mental Health
- Nutrition
- Policy
- Psychology
Biography
Dr Michelle Pentecost is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology and Global Health. A physician-anthropologist by training, her research and publication record reflects her work and interest across disciplines including clinical medicine, anthropology, science and technology studies, urban studies and global health. Michelle holds a degree in medicine from the University of Cape Town and has a decade of work experience as a clinician in South Africa.
Michelle defended her doctorate in Anthropology at the University of Oxford in 2017, specialising in the anthropology of postgenomics and global health. She is a founding member of the Health Professions Special Interest Group of the Medical and Health Humanities Africa Network. She is especially interested in the contemporary roles of the physician (and the physician-anthropologist) across the clinical, academic and public sectors, and the opportunities and challenges that accompany them.
Research
- Maternal and child health
- Politics of medicine
- Medical humanities
Michelle is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow. Her current research in South Africa investigates the social and ethical implications of public health interventions in the early life period from preconception to early childhood, and develops innovative qualitative methodologies for studying the social factors that shape life trajectories. For more information and recent publications visit michellepentecost.net or follow on twitter @medanthdoc.
Teaching
PhD Supervision
Michelle invites queries for PhD supervision in the following areas:
- Anthropology of global health
- Anthropology of science/medicine
- Science and technology studies
- History and philosophy of science.
Further details
Research
Culture, Medicine & Power research group
Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.
Mental Health & Society research group
Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.
Reproduction research cluster
Our interdisciplinary group examines the complex social, cultural, and political dimensions of reproduction.
News
Global Health & Social Medicine academics support burgeoning researchers in social medicine
The Global Social Medicine Network recently held an essay competition for postgraduate students to give them the opportunity to have their work published.
Dr Michelle Pentecost awarded prestigious UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship
Ground-breaking research into the social and ethical implications of preconception interventions to be conducted by Dr Pentecost in partnership with the...
Research
Culture, Medicine & Power research group
Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.
Mental Health & Society research group
Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.
Reproduction research cluster
Our interdisciplinary group examines the complex social, cultural, and political dimensions of reproduction.
News
Global Health & Social Medicine academics support burgeoning researchers in social medicine
The Global Social Medicine Network recently held an essay competition for postgraduate students to give them the opportunity to have their work published.
Dr Michelle Pentecost awarded prestigious UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship
Ground-breaking research into the social and ethical implications of preconception interventions to be conducted by Dr Pentecost in partnership with the...