Staff profile

I am a medical sociologist whose work explores the social and political dimensions of health technologies. I am especially interested in reproductive health innovations. My research has looked at contraceptive risk/benefit assessment, the use and development of assisted reproductive technologies, evidence-making in fertility treatment and commercialisation in reproductive care. I am currently investigating digital innovations in women’s health (‘FemTech’) and am interested in health datafication more broadly.

I completed my PhD in Sociology at McGill University in 2018 and shortly thereafter started working as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Queen Mary University of London, investigating the use of imaging technologies in IVF. I also worked as a Lecturer in the Sociology of Health at Aston University before joining the Department of Sociology at Durham University in September 2022. My work has been supported, among others, by the British Academy and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and has appeared in journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Qualitative Research, Sociology of Health and Illness, Science, Technology, & Human Values and Qualitative Health Research.

I am a convenor of the British Sociological Association (BSA) STS Study Group.

Within the Department of Sociology, I am a member of the Health and Social Theory Research Group. Also, I teach a specialised third year module on Gender, Health and Medicine, but also enjoy introducing students to Classical Sociological Theory (UG1) and exploring qualitative methods and analysis (PGT).

Journal Article

• Geampana, A., & Perrotta, M. (online). Using interview excerpts to facilitate focus group discussion. Qualitative Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941241234283
• Perrotta, M., Zampino, L., Geampana, A., & Bhide, P. (2024). Analysing adherence to guidelines for time-lapse imaging information on UK fertility clinic websites. Human Fertility, 27(1), Article 2346595. https://doi.org/10.1080/14647273.2024.2346595
• Geampana, A. (2024). Fertility apps, datafication and knowledge production in reproductive health. Sociology of Health & Illness, 46(6), 1238-1255. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13793
• Geampana, A., & Perrotta, M. (2023). Accounting for complexity in healthcare innovation debates: Professional views on the use of new IVF treatments. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine, 27(6), 907-923. https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593221074874
• Geampana, A., & Perrotta, M. (2023). Predicting Success in the Embryology Lab: The Use of Algorithmic Technologies in Knowledge Production. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 48(1), 212-233. https://doi.org/10.1177/01622439211057105
• Perrotta, M., & Geampana, A. (2021). Enacting evidence‐based medicine in fertility care: Tensions between commercialisation and knowledge standardisation. Sociology of Health & Illness, 43(9), 2015-2030. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13381
• Perrotta, M., & Geampana, A. (2020). The trouble with IVF and randomised control trials: Professional legitimation narratives on time-lapse imaging and evidence-informed care. Social Science & Medicine, 258, Article 113115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113115
• Geampana, A. (2019). Risky Technologies: Systemic Uncertainty in Contraceptive Risk Assessment and Management. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 44(6), 1116-1138. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243919831411
• Geampana, A. (2019). “One Blood Clot Is One Too Many”: Affected Vocal Users’ Negative Perspectives on Controversial Oral Contraceptives. Qualitative Health Research, 29(10), 1519-1530. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319839027
• Geampana, A. (2016). Pregnancy is more dangerous than the pill: A critical analysis of professional responses to the Yaz/Yasmin controversy. Social Science & Medicine, 166, 9-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.08.005