Sandra Bucerius

Dr. Sandra Bucerius is a Professor in the Sociology Department at the University of Alberta's Faculty of Arts, where she also serves as Director of the University of Alberta Prison Project (UAPP). She holds a PhD from the University of Frankfurt (2009) and specializes in urban ethnography examining prisons, immigration-crime relationships, and the opioid crisis through qualitative methodologies.

Her research focuses on:

• Prison dynamics and lived experiences of inmates/staff
• Victim-offender overlap in criminal justice systems
• Impact of fentanyl/carfentanyl in correctional facilities
• Radicalization pathways in marginalized communities
• Police perceptions of synthetic opioid risks

She leads Canada's largest prison research initiative (UAPP), involving 800+ prisoner interviews and 170+ staff interviews across provincial/federal institutions. Her work is supported by SSHRC, Killam, and TSAS grants.

Awards & Honors:

• Martha Cook Piper Research Prize (2016)
• Faculty of Arts Research & Teaching Awards
• 2nd Place - Deutscher Studienpreis (2009)
• American Sociological Association Honorary Mention

She mentors graduate students through research collaborations and academic book clubs, with students contributing to publications and conference presentations. Current editorial roles include co-editing Oxford University Press' Criminology Handbook series and serving on the advisory board of Criminology journal.