Zahra Abbasi

Zahra Abbasi is a Lecturer at the University of Oslo's Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and a Visiting Predoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (2022–2023). Her doctoral research examines online-offline conceptualizations of mental health in contemporary Iran, focusing on health norms, self-care practices in diaspora communities, and the role of celebrity psychologists.

Her research interests span Medical Humanities, Cultural Studies, Migration, History of Science, and Middle East Studies. She employs interdisciplinary approaches to analyze social media dynamics and popular culture's impact on health advocacy.

Abbasi's publications explore hierarchies in interdisciplinary research, emphasizing power structures in academic collaboration. Her work integrates qualitative and sociological frameworks to critique knowledge production systems.

Awards:

• Long Research Trip Grant (2021)
• Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowships Fund (2022)

She serves on the board of the Junior Network for Migration and Intercultural Relations in Norway, facilitating academic-community engagement on migration studies.