Halie Kampman

I am a postdoctoral scholar working with Dr. Brian King addressing how COVID-19 is shaping the US opioid epidemic. I earned my PhD in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where I lead collaborative social-science oriented projects on food and health geographies in Senegal and Ghana. My dissertation addresses the “nutrition transition” in Ghana, referring to the rapid and dramatic shifts in diets and health as “traditional” foods are seemingly being lost to imported and processed foods. I elevate environmental and socio-historical diagnoses of ill-health, highlighting connections between environmental and bodily health, and show how explanatory theses for causes of ill-health can overlook the perspectives and agency of the people navigating said health problems.