Dalia Iskander

Head of Medical Anthropology, Lecturer (Teaching) in Medical Anthropology

PhD Medical Anthropology, University of Durham (2015)
MSc Medical Anthropology, University of Oxford (2007)
BA Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Oxford (2006)

Term 2 Office Hours

Mondays 1-3. Book online appointment (MS Teams) here.

Biography

My research focusses on malaria and vector-borne diseases. My doctoral research explored malaria practices amongst indigenous upland Pälawan communities in the Philippines. I am particularly interested in the use of participatory visual methodologies (photography, film and mapping) and understanding how these can be used to explore health as well as potentially facilitate communities (particularly young people and women) to make changes in their lives. I have done subsequent work assessing behavioural risk factors for zoonotic malaria infections in Malaysian Borneo and the impact of a business-led sugar levy on consumption behaviours in UK restaurants. I am currently co-investigator on a UKRI-GCRF grant (Led by Katherine Brickell, Royal Holloway), “Depleted by debt? focusing a gendered lens on climate resilience, credit, and nutrition in translocal Cambodia and south India.”

Research interests

Malaria and vector borne diseases
Environmental change, land-use changes and political ecology
Participatory photography (photovoice), film and mapping
Child/adolescent identity and health
Health practices and behaviour change
Technology and health

Teaching

Multi-sensory experience (Convenor and Lecturer)
Anthropology for Medical Students (Co-convenor and Lecturer)
Anthropological methods for postgraduate students (Co-convenor and Lecturer)
Medical Anthropology (Lecturer - undergraduate and MSc)
Comprehending Covid-19: A social and historical perspective (Lecturer)
Biosocial Anthropology (Lecturer)
Culture, Ethics and Religion in the Clinical Encounter (Convenor and Lecturer)
Being Human (Lecturer)
Writing Tutor

Selected Publications

Iskander, D. (2021). The Power of Parasites. Malaria as (un)conscious strategy. Palgrave MacMillan.
Iskander, D. (2019). “‘Empowering’ bodies: how and why making photographs makes children ‘do’ malaria differently.” In Medical Materialities: Toward a Material Culture of Medical Anthropology. Parkhurst, A. and Carrol, T. (eds.). Routledge.
Iskander, D. (2018) “Should We Continue to ‘Bring the World’ to London Through Museum Objects?” Anthropolitan.
Cornelsen, L., O. T. Mytton, J. Adams, A. Gasparrini, D. Iskander, C. Knai, M. Petticrew, C. Scott, R. Smith, C. Thompson, M. White and S. Cummins (2017). "Change in non-alcoholic beverage sales following a 10-pence levy on sugar-sweetened beverages within a national chain of restaurants in the UK: interrupted time series analysis of a natural experiment." Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Cornelsen, L., J. Adams, A. Gasparrini, D. Iskander, C. Knai, O. T. Mytton, M. Petticrew, C. Scott, R. Smith, C. Thompson, M. White and S. Cummins (2016).“Impact of a levy on sales of sugar-sweetened beverages within a national chain of restaurants: interrupted time-series analysis.” The Lancet 388:S15.
Gillian F. Black, Alun Davies, Dalia Iskander & Mary Chambers (2018). "Reflections on the ethics of participatory visual methods to engage communities in global health research" Global Bioethics 29:1, 22-38.
Iskander, D. (2017). "Taking rumours seriously: Why organ thieves matter to malaria control." Anthropology Today 33(4) 9-12
Iskander D. (2016). "Collecting with Communities: promoting indigenous voices in museum spaces." Journal of Museum Ethnography 29: 113-30
Iskander, D. (2015). "Re-imaging malaria in the Philippines: how photovoice can help to re-imagine malaria." Malaria Journal 14(1): 257
Iskander, D. (2015). "Parasites, power and photography: using photovoice to capture and control multiple malarias. Trends in Parasitology 32(1): 1-2