Carole Browner

Carole Browner is a Research Professor in the UCLA Department of Anthropology, Department of Gender Studies, and the David Geffen School of Medicine's Center for Social Medicine. She previously served as Chair of Anthropology (2010–2013). Her work focuses on gender, reproduction, health, and the social impact of biomedical advancements like genetic testing. Her research spans Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S., addressing topics like abortion access, prenatal care medicalization, and neurogenetic diagnoses.

Education: B.A. Social Sciences (New School, 1969); M.A. & Ph.D. Anthropology (UC Berkeley, 1974/1976); M.P.H. Health Administration (UC Berkeley, 1977).

Key research interests include: reproductive politics, Latin American health systems, genetic medicine ethics, and healthcare equity. She has conducted long-term fieldwork with Mexican indigenous communities and advised on U.S.-Mexico border health policies.

Her recent work explores Mexico’s healthcare reforms under AMLO and the legacy of Lázaro Cárdenas’ policies. She co-authored Neurogenetic Diagnoses (2011) and edited Reproduction, Globalization, and the State (2012), which won a prize for best edited volume in medical anthropology.

• Awards: Society for Medical Anthropology’s MASA Mentoring Award (2009), Russell Sage Foundation Fellowship (1998–99), and leadership roles in professional organizations.
• Grants: Funded by NIH, NSF, CDC, and private foundations for projects on genetic testing, reproductive health disparities, and cross-border health equity.

Current research includes collaborative work on Mexican health policy reforms and ethnographic studies of rural Mexican healthcare access.