Alexandre White

Alexandre White is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University and the School of Medicine. He also serves as the Associate Director of the Center for Medical Humanities and Social Medicine. His academic work bridges sociology, history, and global health policy.

Research Interests: White's research centers on the intersections of the sociology of race and ethnicity, the history of medicine, and global historical sociology. He critically investigates how racial forms of governance, rooted in imperial projects, shape contemporary global health crises and social phenomena. His scholarship highlights the racialized dimensions of pandemic response, medical exploitation, and health inequities.

His recent work has focused on the financialization of epidemic response, particularly the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF), which he critiques as a form of 'necrofinance' that commodifies human life. He explores how epidemic threats are securitized and financialized, diverging from traditional frameworks like the WHO’s Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

White’s research trends reveal a deep engagement with the political economy of pandemics, racial governance, and the ethical challenges of global health interventions. His publications span disciplines, appearing in leading sociology journals such as Sociology of Race and Ethnicity and Theory and Society, as well as top medical journals including The Lancet, NEJM, and BMJ.

Scientific Contributions and Policy Impact:

• Editor of Global Historical Sociology of Race and Racism
• Book Epidemic Orientalism forthcoming from Stanford University Press
• Developed a county-level COVID-19 social science data hub with support from NICHD and the Hopkins Population Center
• Co-authored influential recommendations on equitable vaccine delivery for minority populations, published by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
• Briefed U.S. Congress on pandemic response strategies
• Frequent expert commentator in major media outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and Der Spiegel

Advising and Grants: As a principal investigator, White leads funded research initiatives on pandemic equity and data infrastructure. While specific advisees are not listed, his role as assistant professor and associate director implies mentorship of graduate students and junior researchers in medical humanities and social medicine.

Labs and Teams: He is actively involved with the Center for Medical Humanities and Social Medicine at Johns Hopkins, where he contributes to interdisciplinary research on health, ethics, and society. His work fosters collaboration between social scientists, clinicians, and public health experts to address systemic inequities in health outcomes.