Kari Lancaster

Kari Lancaster is a Scientia Associate Professor at the Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH) within the Faculty of Arts, Architecture and Design at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She also holds an Honorary Associate Professor position at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. At UNSW, she leads the Evidence-Making Interventions in Health program and co-convenes the Science and Society Research Group.

Her research focuses on the intersection of Science and Technology Studies (STS), policy studies, and public health sociology. Key areas include:

• Evidence-making practices in health interventions
• Viral elimination programs and outbreak science
• Drug policy and addiction treatment technologies
• Long COVID care and recovery
• Qualitative methodologies in health research

Lancaster's work examines how evidence is produced, translated, and implemented in health contexts, particularly focusing on the social and political dimensions of 'evidence-based' policy and practice. Her research combines theoretical insights from STS with practical applications in public health settings, often working within clinical trials and longitudinal cohort studies to understand the real-world implementation of health interventions.

She has been recognized with several prestigious awards including the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Paul Bourke Award (2020) and the Australian Political Studies Association ANZSOG Policy Studies Prize (2020). Lancaster is currently an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow (2023-2025) for her 'Outbreak science' project and serves as Editor of Science, Technology & Human Values since 2022.

Lancaster actively supervises PhD candidates in areas related to drug policy, evidence-making practices, and social research in health. Her current supervisees include Ann Madden, Isabelle Volpe, Piotr Maron, and Anne Fredrickson, who are working on projects examining consumer engagement in drug policy, youth drug use policy participation, male eating disorders, and opioid withdrawal interventions, respectively.

Her research is supported by multiple Australian Research Council grants and collaborations with institutions including the Kirby Institute, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC).