Lioba Hirsch

Dr. Lioba Hirsch is a Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh. Her interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of anthropology, geography, and history, focusing on antiblackness and colonialism in global and domestic health contexts. She has held a Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship (2021–2024) for her project 'Care, Infrastructure and Antiblackness: The Making of Biomedicine in a Sierra Leonean Hospital' and previously worked as a Research Fellow at the Centre for History in Public Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (2019–2021).

• Education:
  • PhD in Geography and Global Health, University College London (2019)
  • MSc in Political Sociology, London School of Economics (2013)
  • BA in Political Sciences, Sciences Po Paris (2011)

Her research explores the colonial and antiblack entanglements of Western biomedicine, with a focus on West Africa (particularly Sierra Leone), the 2014–16 EVD outbreak, and institutions like Médecins Sans Frontières. Her work draws on Black Studies and postcolonial theory to interrogate global health institutions.

Scientific Awards:

• Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship in Humanities and Social Science (2021–2024)

Dr. Hirsch contributes extensively to institutional DEI processes and has experience as a development worker in Zambia (2013–2015). She is currently on research leave until November 2024, working remotely on her Wellcome-funded project.