Chisomo Kalinga

Dr. Chisomo Kalinga is a Chancellor's Fellow in Social Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, affiliated with the School of Social and Political Science and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH). Her work bridges Medical Humanities, Narrative Ethnography, and African Studies, with a focus on HIV/AIDS narratives, Black sexualities, and decolonizing research methodologies.

• Education: PhD in English Research (King’s College London, 2014), MA in English (George Mason University, 2006), BA in English Literature (McMaster University, 2003)

Her research explores how indigenous storytelling practices in Malawi and the African diaspora address health inequities, body politics, and community co-produced health narratives. She employs

• Arts-based Participatory Action Research
• Visual and Sensory Ethnography
• Discourse Analysis

to challenge colonial epistemologies in global health. Her 15 most recent articles (4 since 2014) examine topics ranging from equitable authorship in international research to literary representations of AIDS in African contexts.

Key scientific awards include

• Wellcome Research Fellowship (2018-2022)
• Wellcome Seed Grant (2017-2018)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship at IASH (2014-2015)
• Nominated Medical Humanities Fellowship (2020)

She supervises research in queer African studies and critical health humanities, and co-directs the Edinburgh Health and Medical Humanities Network. Her grants (2014-2022) total over £250,000, supporting projects on disability inclusion and community health storytelling in Malawi.