Elisa J. Sobo

is a sociocultural anthropologist, and professor and Chair of Anthropology at San Diego State University. Past president of the Society for Medical Anthropology and a longstanding member of the editorial boards of Anthropology and Medicine, Medical Anthropology, and Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Dr. Sobo has published 13 books (e.g., Culture and Meaning in Health Services Research) and numerous peer-reviewed articles. Her work has been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, and in The New York Times, Washington Post, and other news outlets. She has written commentaries for HuffPost, Sapiens, San Diego’s Union Tribune, and other public-facing media. Dr. Sobo’s areas of expertise include childhood and child health, biomedical and other medical/health cultures, organizational issues in healthcare, patient-provider communication, disparities and cultural competence in health care, health-related stigma and identity, risk perception, and qualitative methods (including both ethnographic and rapid assessment methods).