Photo ©Kristinn Ingvarsson
I received my B.A. in sociology from the University of Iceland in 1998, my M.A. in sociology from Indiana University in 2002 and my Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University in 2007. I was an assistant and then associate professor at Boston University from 2007 to 2016, when I decided to return back to Iceland.
My work is at the intersection of medical, political and cultural sociology. I am particularly interested in understanding how institutional arrangements, cultural traditions and historical trajectories impact individual lives, often but not exclusively with a focus on health-related outcomes, behaviors and attitudes.
My research has been published in various journals, including the American Journal of Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, European Sociological Review, Journal of Health and Social Behavior and Social Science & Medicine. My work has been funded by several funding agencies in Europe and the U.S., including the Icelandic Centre for Research and the National Institutes of Health. I serve as the Icelandic team leader for several international surveys, including the European Social Survey (ESS), European Values Survey (EVS) and the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). From 2019-2023, I am co-editor in Chief of Acta Sociologica with Jón Gunnar Bernburg.
I am president of the Fulbright Alumni Association in Iceland and serve on the boards of the Icelandic Sociological Association, the Icelandic Science Society and the Association of Women in Science. I also serve as a board member of Research committee 15 on Health of the International Sociological Association.
In 2019, I was chosen as an Honorary member of the Icelandic Sociological Association for my work and commitment to sociology.
Outside of academia, I have various interests, including traveling, reading books, understanding and experiencing local cuisines, knitting, and all-things Germany related. I am currently working on my B.A.-degree in German at the University of Iceland.