Dr Asha Sofia Persson

Dr Asha Persson is a Senior Lecturer at UNSW. She was a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Social Research in Health from May 2001 to December 2020 (formerly the National Centre in HIV Social Research). She was awarded a PhD in social anthropology from Sydney University in 2001. 
 

Research Areas
During her almost 20 years at the Centre for Social Research in Health, Asha conducted a range of qualitative projects on various cultural and lived aspects of HIV, with particular focus on previously hidden or under-researched populations in the Australian epidemic, including heterosexuals, children growing up with HIV, straight-identified men who have sex with men, couples with mixed HIV status, and families living with a blood-borne virus. Her research aimed to draw attention to the experiences and needs of these populations and to contribute to scholarly knowledge of the cultural interplay between illness, medicine, gender, sexuality and society.

Asha has published widely in high-profile international journals in the fields of health sociology, medical anthropology, cultural studies and HIV.

Areas of expertise for supervision
Social anthropology, ethnography, cultural phenomenology, embodiment, medicine, cultural practice, gender and sexuality, health and illness, HIV/AIDS.