The Perils of Resistance: Antibiotic Stewards and Biosecuritization in North American Hospitals

Katharina Rynkiewich

My dissertation research is focused on the practices of antimicrobial stewardship in medical institutions. My research draws on several traditions in medical anthropology, science and technology studies, and the cultural study of institutions. During my fieldwork at two urban inpatient hospitals, I aim to elicit the tensions, conflicts, and struggles of infectious disease practitioners as they aim to implement antimicrobial stewardship protocols and influence antibiotic prescribing habits. 

This research is funded through The Wenner-Gren Foundation's Doctoral Dissertation Fieldwork Grant and the Office of Graduate Studies in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in Saint Louis.