Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner

Professor Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner is Professor of Social & Medical Anthropology at the University of Sussex, where she has been since 2006. She previously held positions at the University of Amsterdam and served as Programme Director of the Genomics in Asia Programme at the International Institute for Asian Studies in Leiden. Her research focuses on the intersection of science, medicine, society and policy, particularly in East Asian contexts.

Professor Sleeboom-Faulkner received her doctorate on academic nationalism in China and Japan from the Amsterdam School of Social Science Research (ASSR) at Amsterdam University in 2001. Her academic journey includes:

• PhD in Social Science Research, University of Amsterdam (2001)
• Research Fellow at IIAS, Leiden (2001-2009)
• Senior Lecturer at University of Amsterdam (2004)
• Reader of Social Anthropology at University of Sussex (2009-2011)
• Professor of Social and Medical Anthropology at University of Sussex (2012-present)

Her research spans several interconnected themes in medical anthropology and science studies. Professor Sleeboom-Faulkner leads comparative research on biotechnology and society in Asia, with particular focus on regenerative medicine, genomics, bioethics, and science policy-making. She currently investigates integrative health approaches in aging societies and examines the role of religion and superstition in policy-making across China, Japan, and the UK. Her work combines ethnographic methods with policy analysis to understand how scientific innovations are shaped by and shape social contexts.

Professor Sleeboom-Faulkner's recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on regulatory frameworks for emerging biomedical technologies, particularly in Asian contexts. Her work examines how different countries navigate the ethical, social, and political dimensions of biotechnological innovation. A significant portion of her research analyzes stem cell therapies, genomic medicine, and biobanking practices through comparative lenses, revealing how local contexts influence global scientific developments.

Professor Sleeboom-Faulkner has successfully secured major funding for her research, including:

• ESRC-funded "Bionetworking in Asia" project (2011-2014)
• ERC-funded biobanking research (2012-2017)
• British Academy grant for "Regulatory Broken and Performance" (2020-2021)
• Wellcome Trust funding for ethics research (2015-2016)
• Multiple ESRC grants for stem cell research and bioethics collaborations

As a supervisor, Professor Sleeboom-Faulkner has guided numerous doctoral students through completion and currently advises eight PhD candidates. She teaches courses including Anthropology of Religion and Ritual, Anthropology of the Body, and Redesigning Life: Anthropological Approaches to New Biotechnologies. Her research group has produced significant scholarly output on Asian biotechnologies, regulatory practices, and the social dimensions of medical innovation.