Kelley Sams

Dr. Sams is a medical anthropologist and public health researcher specializing in the circulation of medication and public health disease elimination initiatives. She has
been involved in teaching and research since 2001. Dr. Sams is especially interesting in studying how people think about health and illness in different cultures and contexts. Her geographic research focus is sub-Saharan Africa and she has visited 17 different African countries and hopes to visit many more! She holds a PhD in cultural anthropology from the University of South Florida and an MPH in international health from Tulane University. She has taught classes in public health and the social sciences since 2003, and enjoy participating in lively discussions with her students about class materials and how the theories studied in class relate to our everyday lives. Dr. Sams was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, West Africa, and has also worked on several research projects in collaboration with universities in the US and France. When she is not working, she enjoys yoga, traveling with her son, and listening to live music

Courses Taught

PUBH 8030 - Socio- Ecological Perspectives on Health

Education

PhD, University of South Florida

MPH, Tulane University

Awards / Honors

Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Grant, Fulbright Hays, 2009

Publications

Sams, K. (2016). A medicine for every sickness: A visual reflection on the treatment of eye disease in rural Niger. Medicine Anthropology Theory.

Sams, K. (2017). Engaging conceptions of identity in a context of medical pluralism: explaining treatment choices for everyday illness in Niger. . Sociology of Health and illness

Sams, K. (2017). Mobilising Experience from Ebola to Address Plague in Madagascar and Future Epidemics. The Lancet

Sams, K. (2018). Malaria and Spiderman: Conducting Ethnographic Health Research in Niger with a Three-Year-Old.

Presentations

Sams, K. (2018). China and the mass distribution of artemisinin-based malaria medication in the Comoros Union, . European Research Council

Sams, K. (2016). China and the circulation of artemisinin-based malaria treatment in the Comoros Union. European Association of Social Anthropology