Dr Laura Bergin

Laura is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Sustainable Materials Innovation Hub at the University of Manchester. Her research focuses on the social dimensions of material use in healthcare, with a focus on plastic waste, sustainability, and circular economy practices. She brings experience in qualitative research methods, including ethnography, semi-structured interviews, and thematic analysis, alongside a background in material culture, visual anthropology, and public engagement.

Laura holds a DPhil in Social Anthropology and Museum Ethnography from the University of Oxford, where her research explored face masks as visual, material, and curated objects during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also completed her MPhil in Visual, Material, and Museum Anthropology at the University of Oxford, receiving the Professor Marcus Banks Prize in Visual Methods. Her previous work spans PPE waste, digital engagement, curation, and public health, using interdisciplinary, artistic, and community-engaged methods. She served as an editor for the Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford for three years.