My book Inclusion: The Politics of Difference in Medical Research was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2007. In that book, I examine the politics of identity and the management of difference in biomedical research in the United States. More specifically, I investigate the origins and consequences of recent U.S. policy changes designed to improve the health care of women, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, children, the elderly, and others by incorporating them in greater numbers within medical research populations and by testing for differences across populations. I analyze the rise of a new "biopolitical paradigm" in response to challenges from identity-based social movements and their representatives who have called for greater inclusion and the recognition of difference. Through this analysis, I seek to understand the emergence of new conceptions of human difference (by race, sex, etc.) out of the interactions among biomedical experts, state officials, and advocacy groups. I consider the limitations of these approaches in addressing health disparities, and I suggest that these conceptions may bring with them unanticipated perils.

Sexual Migration and Sexual Citizenship

I am a co-investigator on a qualitative study of "sexual migration" that analyzes the sexual identities and risk practices of gay Mexican men who migrate to San Diego, often at least in part for reasons connected to their sexual identity (the "Trayectos" study, funded by the NIH). Through in-depth interviews and ethnographic methods, we are analyzing how such men become incorporated into gay and Latino social settings in San Diego, how migration affects their conceptions of self and sexuality, and whether and how their HIV risk practices are transformed as a result. I have a particular interest in using the study data to investigate the themes of sexual and biomedical citizenship.

The Biopolitics of HPV Vaccination

I am involved in ongoing work studying the politics surrounding the uptake of new vaccines designed to prevent cancer by protecting against infection with HPV (human papillomavirus). Together with April N. Huff, I am using the approval of the HPV vaccine Gardasil to study how the sexualization and desexualization of medical technologies affects knowledge production and regulatory action. I am also analyzing the place of HPV prevention within gay men's health advocacy in relation to concerns about anal cancer. Finally, I am collaborating with Keith Wailoo, Robert Aronowitz, and Julie Livingston on an edited volume focused on HPV vaccination.