Molecular screening technologies and the transformation of cancer survivorship

Kirsten Bell completed a PhD in social anthropology at James Cook University (Australia) in 2000 and is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at the Univesity of British Columbia in Canada.  She has also held academic appointments in anthropology departments at Macquarie University (Australia) and the University of Northern Colorado (USA). 

Kirsten's research interests focus on the anthropology of biomedicine and public health and her Brocher Foundation project focuses on the growing use of molecular technologies in tertiary cancer prevention (i.e. the use of these technologies amongst those for whom the risks of cancer have been realized).  Her primary interest is in the incorporation of molecular biomarkers into routine disease surveillance and the ways they impact and transform people's experiences of life with and 'after' cancer.