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Dr Maria Paula Prates

Academic position: Research Fellow in Medical Anthropology of the Anthropocene

Department: Anthropology 

Email: maria.prates@ucl.ac.uk

URL: UCL website

Biography:

I am a medical anthropologist interested in the embodied inequalities of the Anthropocene, specially that concerning Indigenous Women in lowland South America. I have been working with and among the Guaran-Mbyá in the last 20 years. I have ongoing research projects in reproductive justice, encompassing birthing, unconsented episiotomies, sterilization and c-section, and on the imbricated relation between Tuberculosis and environmental degradation. I came to the UK in 2018 as a Newton International Fellowship (British Academy and Newton Fund). Before joining the Department of Anthropology at UCL, I was Adjunct Professor in Anthropology of Health at UFCSPA, Brazil. 

Research Projects:

2021 – present: Embodied Inequalities of the Anthropocene: Building Capacity in Medical Anthropology; University College London (Funded by Wellcome Trust)

2022 – present: The Covid-19 in Brazil 2: analysis and response to the social impacts of the immunisation, treatment, practices and care ambiences, and the affected people recover; Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) (Funded by MCTI/ Brazilian Government)

2022 – present: The Guarani-Mbyá case study: understanding the socio-cultural and epidemiological factors related to high immunodeficiency prevalence among Indigenous communities in Argentina and Brazil; University College London (Funded by UCL Collaborative Social Sciences Domain(CSSD), Social Sciences Plus)

2022 - present: Investigación sobre la situación de la salud sexual y salud reproductiva de mulheres, jóvenes y niñas indígenas en Brasil (Research project regarding sexual and reproductive health among indigenous women, young women and children in Brazil). It is a project funded by the Indigenous Association CHIRAPAQ that encompasses 5 countries: Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala and Mexico. 

2020-2022 Indigenous Peoples responding to Covid-19: Social arrangements in a Global Health emergency (PARI-c www.pari-c.org) City University (Funded by MRC/UKRI)

Teaching:

Reading Group Convener: Anthropocene Health, Coloniality, and Gender