Aaron Parkhurst

Aaron Parkhurst is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at University College London (UCL), specializing in medical anthropology with a focus on the human body as a nexus of social relations. His work spans diverse contexts including medicine, sport, urban environments, outer space, and technological entanglement. Parkhurst has established himself as a leading researcher in biosocial anthropology, particularly in understanding chronic illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart disease through integrated biological and social frameworks.

Parkhurst's research interests are wide-ranging and interdisciplinary. He has conducted fieldwork in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Britain, and the USA, examining how conditions of uncertainty become embodied, influencing both pathology and health-seeking behaviors. His work in the United Arab Emirates and the UK has made significant contributions to understanding the relationship between modernity, urbanization, and chronic illness. Currently, he leads research on the human body off-world through his involvement with the ERC-funded project Ethno-ISS, studying life aboard the International Space Station and future habitation on the Moon and Mars.

His publications reveal a strong trajectory toward space anthropology and the material culture of the human body in extreme environments. Recent work focuses on microgravity environments, off-world living, and the social organization of space habitats. Parkhurst frequently collaborates with scholars like Timothy Carroll and David Jeevendrampillai, particularly on projects exploring material culture and failure. His 2017 edited volume 'The Material Culture of Failure: When Things Do Wrong' represents a significant theoretical contribution to anthropological understanding of failure as a social phenomenon rather than merely a technical malfunction.

Parkhurst plays an active role in mentoring students and securing research funding. As part of the Ethno-ISS project, he collaborates with the UK's and EU's aerospace industries to study human adaptation to space environments. His work bridges academic research with practical applications, having published for both scholarly audiences and in applied publications for the NHS, Parliament white papers, and health think tanks.

Within UCL, Parkhurst contributes to several research centers focused on medical anthropology and space studies. He is part of a growing interdisciplinary team exploring the social dimensions of space exploration and habitation. His work with the Ethno-ISS project has established UCL as a leader in anthropological approaches to space research.