My studies at Columbia University emphasized history, literature, sociology (of medicine and science), and public health. During graduate school, I also worked (1989-1995) at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where I was involved in research on sociomedical HIV/AIDS service design for high-risk, hard-to-reach populations. Today, my research deals primarily with medical sociology (experiences of illness, particularly in intensive-care units; narrative; health ideologies), public health, and ethics. A long-running thread in my research is the question of "dangerous knowledge" across various areas of science and medicine. I have also developed a new teaching interest in the sociology of food.

Research

• A reflexive reappraisal of individual responsibility in medical sociology
• Disclosure and concealment of Type 1 diabetes in the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in Israel
• How Israeli shochtim (ritual slaughterers) understand violence in their work
• The morbidity and mortality (m&m) conference as a tool of quality control in medicine and surgery
• A "panoramic", empirical approach to illness narratives
• Spiritual counseling and boundary work in Israel