Cristina Bejarano

Cristina T. Bejarano is a sociocultural anthropologist who conducts research in the areas of medical anthropology, science and technology studies, and environmental studies.

Her current book project, Unruly Genomes, examines the efforts of the Mexican state to build an infrastructure aimed at promoting biomedical research in the field of genomics. It analyzes how resource-limited local research institutions and universities in conjunction with uneven transnational scientific networks can create the conditions for new iterations of somatic reductionism while potentially obscuring the significance of innovative biomedical approaches to the complex interactions between bodies and environments.

She also conducts research on how heavily industrial communities of Southern California are affected by exposure to toxic substances over the course of generations. This research examines environmental governance as well as the attempts of local environmental justice groups to hold polluters accountable. This work emphasizes the long-term effects of exposure to both toxic substances and the industrial infrastructure itself.