Staff profile

I currently work as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Durham University. With interdisciplinary training in sociology and political theory, my research approach is grounded in the sociology of medicine, science, and diagnosis, and is further informed by scholarship in anthropology, science & technology studies (STS), history of ideas, and humanities.

Between 2023 and 2025, I was Co-Director of the Institute for Medical Humanities (IMH) supporting its major transformation in governance, membership, and strategic research foci. In 2025, I launched one of its novel themes at the interface of medical and environmental humanities, which I now co-lead with colleagues in Anthropology and Geography, with a series of activities planned in 2025/26. During this period, I will be primarily working on my project Reframing Ecoanxiety.

Externally, I serve on the Wellcome Trust’s Early-Career Awards and Interviews Panel (arm 4), the editorial board of Sociology of Health and Illness, and as co-convenor of the British Sociological Association (BSA) climate change study group. 

Prior to this, I held advanced fellowships and posts at McGill University and LSHTM, and a pre-doctoral fellowship at CES-UC in collaboration with Centre de sociologie de l’innovation, Mines Paris-Tech. I studied for my PhD at LSE Sociology (BIOS) and King’s College London.

My research has been published in English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French, in books and journals spanning social science and humanities, including BioSocieties, Medical Humanities, Disability, Health, Frontiers in Sociology, Medical Anthropology, Medicine Anthropology Theory, PLOS Biology, Social History of Medicine (see links below).

Given my research foci and personal trajectory, I am committed to mentoring migrant, disabled, LGBTQ+, and working-class students and staff. Please note that I am on research leave part of this academic year and I will not take on additional requests during this time. 

Research areas, funding, and publications

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

1. The coproduction of knowledge in science/society and translational models of care and vulnerability, featuring work on health activism, co-production and engagement; on environmental adversity and exposure in epigenetics and interdisciplinary biosocial research; and on ecosocial models of neurodisability, vulnerability, and immunity.

• 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 101 Women in Science by Ciência Viva, Portugal.

2. The global landscapes of ADHD and youth mental health through a long-term project on the ADHD diagnosis, treatment, and social history in Portugal and Southern Europe, and in the global context, charting wider cultural, ethical and digital trends. You can read some of my work in Portuguese and French, and explore the book Global Perspectives on ADHD (Johns Hopkins UP).

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

3. The cultural history and politics of eco-anxiety, through a project that charts the social, cultural, and political dimensions of eco-anxiety in times of planetary disruption. This research seeks to improve and shift our understanding of agency, knowledge, affective experience, and distress on the climate change frontlines (including scientific, therapeutic, and activist communities).

• This research has been supported by the Leverhulme Trust and the British Academy ECRN.

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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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

• Mapping the social studies of ADHD: From medicalization theory to neurodiversity in the digital age, and future directions
  
  Filipe, A. M., & Holroyd, D. (2026). Mapping the social studies of ADHD: From medicalization theory to neurodiversity in the digital age, and future directions. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593261449197
• 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.