Dr Abin Thomas

Research Fellow in Animal Health/Agricultural or Environment

Biography

Background

I am an anthropologist whose research focuses on global health, multispecies interactions, the gift and commodities, charismatic figures and social mobilisation in South Asia, as well as the anthropology of interdisciplinary methods.

At the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, I am conducting an anthropological investigation into antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in India. As part of the DOSA project, my research will contribute to the development of user-informed diagnostics for AMR by tracing the human behaviour in primary health centres, and veterinary and aquaculture settings. I am also studying the use of antibiotics in North-East India by following their various movements through land, kitchen, and into the clinic.

During my PhD at King’s College London, I examined how life is politicised in India to bring about mass participation in and support for the search for organ transplants, affordable immunosuppressants, and management of post-transplant life. In my thesis, I provided an alternative way of understanding political and economic participation of vulnerable individuals in organ transfers, moving beyond a rights-based approach to biopolitics in South Asia.

Qualifications

PhD (Anthropology), King’s College London;

MPhil (Political Science), Delhi University;

MA (Political Science), University of Hyderabad;

BSc (Physics), Mahatma Gandhi University.

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