Staff profile

I currently work as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Durham University. My interdisciplinary research approach is informed by the sociology and anthropology of health, science & technology studies (STS), the global history of ideas, and multimodal methods.

From 2023 to 2025, I was Co-Director of the Institute for Medical Humanities, supporting its major transition into new membership, funding, and governance structures, and pivoting towards its novel research themes. Among these, I founded the theme that sits at the nexus of medical and environmental humanities, which I now co-lead with colleagues across Anthropology and Geography, with funded activity planned in the academic years of 2025-2027. During this period, I will be working on my new Leverhulme project (see below) and visiting with STIS in the University of Edinburgh. Since 2024, I have been further appointed to Wellcome Trust’s Early Career Awards and Interviews Committee (arm 4) and the Editorial Board of Sociology of Health and Illness.

Prior to that, I held senior research positions at McGill University and LSHTM, and a pre-doctoral fellowship from CES-UC in collaboration with Centre de sociologie de l’innovation, Mines Paris-Tech. I studied for my PhD at LSE (Sociology/BIOS centre) and King’s College London.

I welcome enquiries from pre- and post-doctoral candidates who share my research interests, especially those applying to AHRC Transformative Humanities PhD, ESRC NINE DTP (1+3/PhD/Postdoc), and Wellcome ECA. 

Research areas and awards

My projects and publications reflect three key areas of research interest:

1. The production of knowledge and its translation in science/society, featuring collaborative work and writing on health activism, co-production and engagement; on environmental epigenetics and biosocial research; and on ecosocial theories and interdisciplinary frameworks of neurodisability and vulnerability.

• This work was supported by the European Commission, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and Wellcome Trust. It was featured in the 2021 honours list and photo-exhibition Women in Science organised by the portuguese agency for science communication, Ciência Viva.

2. Making sense of ADHD and global psychiatry, through a long-term project on its diagnosis, treatment, and social history in Portugal, and in the global context, charting wider social, ethical and digital trends in the field. You can read my work in Portuguese and French, and the book Global Perspectives on ADHD (JHUP).

• This project received funding from the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Portuguese Science & Technology Agency, the Rising Star Prize from FRQSC Canada, and the Elsevier Prize for Outstanding PhD Thesis.

3. Reframing ecoanxiety and the cultural history of climate emotions exploring how these shape our everyday deliberations and planetary futures, as expressed in therapeutic, scientific, and youth activist communities.

• This research is currently funded by the Leverhulme Trust (website coming soon).

Book review

• Adams, V. (ed). Metrics: What Counts in Global Health. Durham: Duke University Press. 2016. 258pp. $24.95 (pbk) ISBN 978–0‐8223–6097–1
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2017). Adams, V. (ed). Metrics: What Counts in Global Health. Durham: Duke University Press. 2016. 258pp. $24.95 (pbk) ISBN 978–0‐8223–6097–1. Sociology of Health & Illness, 39(8), 1575-1577. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.12602
• Raising Generation Rx: Mothering Kids with Invisible Disabilities in an Age of Inequality. By Linda M. Blum. New York: New York University Press, 2015. Pp. viii+310. $79.00 (cloth); $27.00 (paper).
  
  Filipe, A. M., & Singh, I. (2016). Raising Generation Rx: Mothering Kids with Invisible Disabilities in an Age of Inequality. By Linda M. Blum. New York: New York University Press, 2015. Pp. viii+310. $79.00 (cloth); $27.00 (paper). American Journal of Sociology, 122(3), 985-987. https://doi.org/10.1086/688472

Chapter in book

• Situer la vie sociale des TDAH: Entre le médical, le local et le global
  
  Rojas Navarro, S., & Filipe, A. M. (2023). Situer la vie sociale des TDAH: Entre le médical, le local et le global. In C. L. Vieira, C. Yves, & P. M. M. Renata (Eds.), L’attention médicamentée: La Ritaline à l’école (pp. 57-76). PUR.
• Bioética [bioethics]
  
  Ferreira, P., & Filipe, A. M. (2019). Bioética [bioethics]. In ALICE Dictionary. CES/ALICE.
• The emergence and shaping of ADHD in Portugal: Ambiguities of a diagnosis “In the making”
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2018). The emergence and shaping of ADHD in Portugal: Ambiguities of a diagnosis “In the making”. In M. R. Bergey, A. M. Filipe, P. Conrad, & I. Singh (Eds.), Global Perspectives on ADHD: Social Dimensions of Diagnosis and Treatment in Sixteen Countries (pp. 118-137). Johns Hopkins University Press.
• ADHD in a global context: An introduction
  
  Bergey, M., & Filipe, A. M. (2018). ADHD in a global context: An introduction. In M. R. Bergey, A. M. Filipe, P. Conrad, & I. Singh (Eds.), Global Perspectives on ADHD: Social Dimensions of Diagnosis and Treatment in Sixteen Countries (pp. 1-8). Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.1353/book.56717
• Biopolitics
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2014). Biopolitics. In The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society. Editors: W. C. Cockerham, R. Dingwall, S. Quah (pp. 142-145). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118410868.wbehibs255
• Coletivos sociais na saúde: o ativismo em torno das doenças raras e do parto em Portugal
  
  Filipe, A. M., Roriz, M., Neves, D., Matias, M., & Nunes, J. A. (2014). Coletivos sociais na saúde: o ativismo em torno das doenças raras e do parto em Portugal (pp. 175-194). CES Almedina.

Edited book

• Global Perspectives on ADHD: Social Dimensions of Diagnosis and Treatment in Sixteen Countries
  
  Bergey, M. R., Filipe, A. M., Conrad, P., & Singh, I. (Eds.). (2018). Global Perspectives on ADHD: Social Dimensions of Diagnosis and Treatment in Sixteen Countries. Johns Hopkins University Press. https://doi.org/10.1353/book.56717
• The dynamics of patient organizations in Europe
  
  Akrich, M., Nunes, J., Patterson, F., & Rabeharisoa, V. (Eds.). (2008). The dynamics of patient organizations in Europe. Presses des Mines. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.pressesmines.1577

Journal Article

• New frontiers for Biosocial Birth Cohort Research: interdisciplinary approaches to exposure, harmonisation and collaboration
  
  Gibbon, S., Roberts, E., Hardy, R., Béhague, D., Téllez Rojo, M., Goncalves-Soares, A., Mathers, R., Penkler, M., Fraga, S., Wooyoung Kim, A., Pentecost, M., Tabor, E., Jeffries-Hein, R., Lappé, M., Borra, C., Rossmann, S., Lloyd, S., Filipe, A., & Silva, S. (2024). New frontiers for Biosocial Birth Cohort Research: interdisciplinary approaches to exposure, harmonisation and collaboration. Wellcome Open Research, 9, Article 355. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.21734.1
• Pandemic Life-lines: A Multimodal Autoethnography of COVID-19 Illness, Isolation, and Shared Immunities
  
  Filipe, A. (2024). Pandemic Life-lines: A Multimodal Autoethnography of COVID-19 Illness, Isolation, and Shared Immunities. Medicine Anthropology Theory, 11(1), 1-32. https://doi.org/10.17157/mat.11.1.7359
• How and why to use ‘vulnerability’: an interdisciplinary analysis of disease risk, indeterminacy and normality
  
  Ford, A., De Togni, G., Erikainen, S., Filipe, A. M., Pickersgill, M., Sturdy, S., Swallow, J., & Young, I. (2024). How and why to use ‘vulnerability’: an interdisciplinary analysis of disease risk, indeterminacy and normality. Medical Humanities, 50(1), 125-134. https://doi.org/10.1136/medhum-2023-012683
• The other face of medical globalization? Pharmaceutical data, prescribing trends, and the social localization of psychostimulants
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2023). The other face of medical globalization? Pharmaceutical data, prescribing trends, and the social localization of psychostimulants. BioSocieties, 18(2), 335-357. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41292-022-00271-x
• Mapping of Financial Support Programs for Children With Neurodisabilities Across Canada: Barriers and Discrepancies Within a Patchwork System
  
  Salvino, C., Spencer, C., Filipe, A. M., & Lach, L. M. (2022). Mapping of Financial Support Programs for Children With Neurodisabilities Across Canada: Barriers and Discrepancies Within a Patchwork System. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, 33(3), 168-177. https://doi.org/10.1177/10442073211066776
• The Allegory of "Navigation" as a Concept of Care: The Case of Child Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
  
  McCrossin, J., Filipe, A. M., Nicholas, D., & Lach, L. M. (2022). The Allegory of "Navigation" as a Concept of Care: The Case of Child Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 27(2), Online-first. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7017122
• Towards a feminist philosophy of engagements in health-related research
  
  Erikainen, S., Stewart, E., Filipe, A. M., Chan, S., Cunningham-Burley, S., Ilson, S., King, G., Porteous, C., Sinclair, S., & Webb, J. (2022). Towards a feminist philosophy of engagements in health-related research. Wellcome Open Research, 6, 58. https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.16535.2
• Developing a Canadian framework for social determinants of health and well-being among children with neurodisabilities and their families: an ecosocial perspective
  
  Filipe, A. M., Bogossian, A., Zulla, R., Nicholas, D., & Lach, L. M. (2021). Developing a Canadian framework for social determinants of health and well-being among children with neurodisabilities and their families: an ecosocial perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation, 43(26), 3856-3867. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2020.1754926
• Troubling Neurobiological Vulnerability: Psychiatric Risk and the Adverse Milieu in Environmental Epigenetics Research
  
  Filipe, A. M., Lloyd, S., & Larivée, A. (2021). Troubling Neurobiological Vulnerability: Psychiatric Risk and the Adverse Milieu in Environmental Epigenetics Research. Frontiers in Sociology, 6, Article 635986. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.635986
• Situar a hiperatividade e déficit de atenção em Portugal: dimensões sociais, históricas e éticas de um tema emergente na saúde global
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2020). Situar a hiperatividade e déficit de atenção em Portugal: dimensões sociais, históricas e éticas de um tema emergente na saúde global. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, 36(12), Article e00056420. https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-311x00056420
• Situated Interventions in Health Care? Refiguring the Normative Place and Experimental Practice of Social Science
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2017). Situated Interventions in Health Care? Refiguring the Normative Place and Experimental Practice of Social Science. Science As Culture, 26(3), 418-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/09505431.2017.1315930
• The co-production of what? Knowledge, values, and social relations in health care
  
  Filipe, A., Renedo, A., & Marston, C. (2017). The co-production of what? Knowledge, values, and social relations in health care. PLOS Biology, 15(5), e2001403. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001403
• Collaborating for better health: the role of qualitative research
  
  Marston, C., Renedo, A., Matthews, R., Filipe, A., & Reed, J. (2017). Collaborating for better health: the role of qualitative research. BMJ Open, 7(Suppl 2), bmjopen-2017-016492.2. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016492.2
• Making ADHD Evident: Data, Practices, and Diagnostic Protocols in Portugal
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2016). Making ADHD Evident: Data, Practices, and Diagnostic Protocols in Portugal. Medical Anthropology, 35(5), 390-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/01459740.2015.1101102
• From ‘politics of numbers’ to ‘politics of singularisation’: Patients’ activism and engagement in research on rare diseases in France and Portugal
  
  Rabeharisoa, V., Callon, M., Filipe, A. M., Nunes, J. A., Paterson, F., & Vergnaud, F. (2014). From ‘politics of numbers’ to ‘politics of singularisation’: Patients’ activism and engagement in research on rare diseases in France and Portugal. BioSocieties, 9(2), 194-217. https://doi.org/10.1057/biosoc.2014.4
• The Rise of Child Psychiatry in Portugal: An Intimate Social and Political History, 1915-1959
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2014). The Rise of Child Psychiatry in Portugal: An Intimate Social and Political History, 1915-1959. Social History of Medicine, 27(2), 326-348. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/hku006
• Globalization and Cognitive Enhancement: Emerging Social and Ethical Challenges for ADHD Clinicians
  
  Singh, I., Filipe, A. M., Bard, I., Bergey, M., & Baker, L. (2013). Globalization and Cognitive Enhancement: Emerging Social and Ethical Challenges for ADHD Clinicians. Current Psychiatry Reports, 15(9). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0385-0
• Entre bios e polis? Debates contemporâneos sobre saúde, biomedicina e biocidadania
  
  Filipe, A. M. (2010). Entre bios e polis? Debates contemporâneos sobre saúde, biomedicina e biocidadania. Prisma Jurídico, 9(1), 75-89.
• Os novos actores colectivos no campo da saúde: o papel das famílias nas associações de doentes
  
  Nunes, J., Filipe, A. M., & Matias, M. (2010). Os novos actores colectivos no campo da saúde: o papel das famílias nas associações de doentes. Alicerces, 3, 119-128.
• Actores colectivos e os seus projectos para a saúde: o caso das associações de doentes em Portugal
  
  Filipe, A. (2009). Actores colectivos e os seus projectos para a saúde: o caso das associações de doentes em Portugal. Eä: Revista de Humanidades Médicas Y Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia Y la Tecnología, 1(2), 1-48.
• Patient organizations as emerging actors in the health arena: the case of Portugal
  
  Nunes, J. A., Matias, M., & Filipe, Â. M. (2007). Patient organizations as emerging actors in the health arena: the case of Portugal. Revista Eletrônica de Comunicação, Informação E Inovação Em Saúde, 1(1), 105-108. https://doi.org/10.29397/reciis.v1i1.894

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Paying attention: Diagnosis, values, and meaning-making in the ADHD clinic
  
  Filipe, A. (2020, October 12). Paying attention: Diagnosis, values, and meaning-making in the ADHD clinic. Somatosphere: Science, Medicine, and Anthropology [Academic blog].
• Epistemic and Temporal Disjunctions: (Re)Mapping "Suicide Risk" Epigenetics Through Birth Cohorts
  
  Lloyd, S., Filipe, A., & Larivée, A. (2020, June 26). Epistemic and Temporal Disjunctions: (Re)Mapping "Suicide Risk" Epigenetics Through Birth Cohorts [Academic Blog Post]. Somatosphere: Science, Medicine, and Anthropology.