Jesse Bia

Education

• PhD - University College London (UCL)
  MPhil - University of Oxford
  BA - University of Rochester

• Dr. Bia is a cultural and medical anthropologist, and regional specialist in the field of Japanese studies. Dr. Bia’s principal research examines the lived experiences and narratives of geriatric patients with degenerative diseases in urban Japan, and the nurses, physicians, and family members who care for them. This work often focuses on the development and use of Regenerative Medicine – the application of native and induced stem cells to repair damaged organs, tissue, and cells – documenting and analyzing individual and societal perceptions thereof. Dr. Bia’s research highlights connections and disjunctures between these biomedical procedures, traditional medicine/treatments (kampō), and folk rituals repurposed for novel health outcomes, in both Japan and greater East Asia. Prior research includes long-term examination of patient experiences in a Kagoshima dialysis clinic, and an ongoing project advocating against legislation forcing the medicalization of traditional irezumi tattooing.