Jamie Saris

Jamie Saris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Maynooth University, where he also serves as Director of Postgraduate Studies. He holds advanced degrees in Social-Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago (MA and PhD) and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Clinically-Relevant Medical Anthropology at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Saris has over twenty years of experience conducting research in medical and psychological anthropology across Ireland, North America, and Africa. His work has explored diverse topics including mental health institutions, experiences of mental illness, colonialism and its aftermath, structural violence and health risk, authenticity, health services research, and drug use/abuse. He has led significant research projects including one of Ireland's first national prevalence studies on opiate use and directed anthropological projects that received major support from the Health Research Board of Ireland.

His research interests span Medical Anthropology (including Global Health), Anthropology of Europe (particularly Ireland), Psychological Anthropology (with a focus on Major Mental Illnesses and Addiction), Anthropological History, Anthropological Analyses of Space, Anthropological Theory, Urban Anthropology and structural violence issues in European cities, and Cultural and political issues around HIV treatment. His recent work has increasingly focused on aging populations, epilepsy care, and the intersection of technology and healthcare through projects like SHAPES (Smart and Healthy Ageing through People Engaging in Supportive Systems).

• Senior Research Fellowship at Internationales Forschungszentrum Kulturwissenschaften/Kunstuniversität Linz (2013)
• Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (1991)
• Fellowship in the International Doctoral Research Program (1988)
• NIMH Post-Doctorate Training Fellowship (1992)

Dr. Saris has mentored numerous PhD students, averaging two completed doctorates per three years since 2000. He has served on editorial boards for Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry and Reviews in Anthropology, and was Editor of The Irish Journal of Anthropology. He has held leadership positions including Co-Chair of the Combat Diseases of Poverty Consortium and Deputy Director of the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA).

As a founding member of the Assisting Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, Dr. Saris contributes to interdisciplinary research examining the intersection of technology, aging, and healthcare. His work through the SHAPES project has focused on developing technology-mediated solutions to support healthy aging across European communities, while maintaining his long-standing commitment to addressing structural violence and health disparities.