The Killam Award
As a recent immigrant to Canada (I grew up and studied in Germany before completing my Ph.D. in the United States), I am impressed with the generosity with which the Killam family dedicated their legacy to higher education. The fact that their bequest benefits institutions across the country speaks of a sense of fairness and solidarity that does not exist everywhere in the world. Since Killam fellowships are open to Canadian and non-Canadian candidates, being a Killam scholar gives me a sense of having been welcomed in this country while strengthening connections to the international scholarly community.

During the first year of my postdoctoral fellowship, I was able to revise my dissertation and submit it for publication, as well as starting archival research on Soviet reproductive policy. The travel allowance makes it possible for me to conduct summer field research in Russia and to travel to conferences to present my work and consult with colleagues. At the beginning of my scholarly career, it is a blessing to have time to devote to writing and research before assuming full-time teaching responsibilities.

UBC
The UBC anthropology department is renowned for its focus on transnational connections and transfers of expertise, so my interest in how the post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church takes up international approaches to fetal personhood and faith-based activism fit right in. There is also a vibrant, interdisciplinary Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies, whose discussions push me to think more deeply about the intersections between gender, memory, medicine, and politics.