MPI Researcher Julia Vorhölter Accepts Heisenberg Position
In June of this year, Julia Vorhölter was awarded funding from the Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG) for a position as Head of Research Group at the MPI. Her project, entitled “Sleep and Sleeplessness in Germany – Rethinking Agency, Knowledge, and Experience through Sleep”, builds on research conducted as a research fellow at the MPI (see selected publications below for more information). In addition to continuing her own research on sleep, she will also join forces with colleagues at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) to establish an interdisciplinary lab that brings together medicine and medical anthropology. The lab will be run in close collaboration with Patrick Jahn, Professor for Health Service Research at MLU.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration with MLU
“The acceptance to the Heisenberg Programme is a great honour and will enable me to continue my anthropological work on sleep and sleeplessness as well as to work more closely with colleagues at MLU”, says Julia Vorhölter. Partners in her new project are researchers from the health service research unit of MLU’s University Medicine, Professor Patrick Jahn and his colleague Franziska Fink. Jahn coordinates the project “Innovationsregion für digitale Transformation der Pflege und Gesundheitsversorgung” (TPG), which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and is dedicated to finding digital solutions for health and care needs in the context of the structural transformation of former coal-mining regions in Saxony-Anhalt. The new project of Vorhölter and her partners will examine topics related to digital healthcare within this larger project.
Creation of a Shared Lab
To formalize and deepen the collaboration and dialogue between anthropologists and medical researchers, Vorhölter, Jahn, and MPI Director Ursula Rao are creating the Medical Anthropology and Digital Transformation Lab (MADT Lab). Four doctoral students will join the team. “The MADT Lab is an outstanding framework for conducting research together with colleagues at MLU and organizing workshops to explore contemporary challenges such as the future of nursing and medical care”, explains Vorhölter, who will be responsible for leading the lab.
Heisenberg Programme
The DFG’s Heisenberg Programme provides funding for outstanding researchers who are eligible to hold a professorship in Germany but do not yet have a permanent appointment. The five-year funding period enables them to continue their research work while gaining additional experience in a leadership position and building their academic profile.
References
- Julia Vorhölter. 2024. The Insomniac’s Stubborn Hope. American Ethnologist Curated Collection (Theme: Living in a Mode of Despite): americanethnologist.org/online-content/collections/
- Julia Vorhölter. 2024. “Agency”. The Open Encyclopedia of Anthropology, edited by Rachel Cantave. Online: http://doi.org/10.29164/24agency.
- Julia Vorhölter. 2024. (Mis)Perceiving Apnea and Insomnia in Germany: A Tale of Two Disorders. Medical Anthropology 43(1): 46–60.
- Julia Vorhölter. 2023: Sleeping with Strangers – Techno-Intimacy and Side-Affects in a German Sleep Lab. Historical Social Research, 48:2 (23-40).