Laura Burke is a postdoctoral researcher at ISA. Her work focuses on the intersections between health, environment, and conflict.
Laura was awarded her PhD in Social Anthropology in 2023 from the School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent, UK. Her doctoral thesis 'Reproducing Life After Conflict: Population, Prosperity and Potent Landscapes in Independent Timor-Leste' explores how life is being rebuilt in a central highland community. Using a reproductive justice lens it explores the contending approaches to reproducing the next generation in the wake of violent conflict. During her doctoral studies, Laura was a visiting scholar at the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL).
Her current project 'Germs and Ghosts: Transmissions of Health and Environment in Timor-Leste' has been awarded FWF Disruptive Innovation Seed Funding to explore the intersections of health and environment in Timor-Leste in collaboration with community radio journalists. Through collaborative audio ethnography, this project examines health inequalities and indigenous health knowledge.
As a medical anthropologist, Laura's regional areas of interest include Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a special focus on Timor-Leste and the Philippines. Before joining ISA Laura worked as a post-doctoral researcher on projects related to health and environment, with a particular focus on addressing inequalities. She conducted ethnographic research for the 'Homelessness in the Countryside: A Hidden Crisis' at Kent Law School (University of Kent), and collaborated with international partners for the Participatory Action Research project: 'Empowering Communities through University Partnerships in Public Health' based at the centre for Cultures of Reproduction, Technologies and Health (CORTH, University of Sussex).
Laura has taught anthropology, medical anthropology, and global health, at Kings College London, Queen Mary University London, University of Kent, and University of Plymouth, as well as working as an editorial assistant for the journal Social Analysis:The International Journal of Anthropology. She has also worked as a researcher for human rights and social justice organizations and is happy to advise and consult on health inequalities.
Medical Anthropology
Global Health
Environment and Sustainability
Conflict and Post-conflict Recovery
Reproductive Rights and Justice
Spiritual Ecologies
Community Journalism and Media
Science and Technology Studies (STS)
Population Studies and Critical Demography
Participatory Action Research (PAR)
2026 Burke, L. 'Concealed coexistence: Reproductive choice and coercion in Timor-Leste'. Medical Anthropology Quarterly. Early View. Jan 24:e70056. doi: 10.1111/maq.70056
2022 Burke, L. ‘Making Kin and Population: Counting Life in the Wake of Abandonment in Timor-Leste’ in “Reproductive Abandonment” by Munro and Widmer (eds). Special Issue of The Anthropology Journal of Asia Pacific
2021 Burke, L. ‘A Hospital Without People in a Timor-Leste Community’ in The Hospital Multiple, Janina Kehr and Fanny Chabrol (eds) Somatosphere
2020 Burke, L. Planning Reproduction, Planning Life: reproduction in Maubisse. in Understanding Timor-Leste/ Hatene kona ba Timor-Leste/ Compreender Timor-Leste Edited by Steven Farram, Dulce Martins da Silva, Leonardo F. Soares, Nuno Canas Mendes, Clinton Fernandes, Mica Barreto Soares, Uka Pinto, Hannah Loney, Robert L Williams, Claudino Ninas Nabais and Michael Leach., Hawthorn: Swinburne Press, 2020. Vol. I, II & III Timor-Leste Studies Association
2019 Burke, L. ‘It’s Cold‘, Perspectives Series, Weather Matters
2018 Burke, L. Perceptions of Reproduction and Demography in Timor-Leste’s Post-Conflict Population Boom in Peskiza foun kona-ba Timor-Leste / Novas investigações sobre Timor-Leste / New research on Timor-Leste / Penelitian baru tentang Timor-Leste Edited by Peter Job, Antero B. da Silva, Nuno Canas Mendes, Alarico da Costa Ximenes, Mica Barreto Soares, Sara Niner, and Therese Tam. Timor-Leste Studies Association
