CURRICULUM VITAE

Nilüfer Akalın

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BIOGRAPHY

Nilüfer Akalın earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Binghamton University in 2021. Her research focuses on immigrant mobilities and the intersections of immigration status and race within the U.S. healthcare system, examining how these factors shape immigrants’ access to care. Using qualitative and ethnographic methods, she investigates how systemic inclusion and exclusion are negotiated in clinical encounters. Her current work has two main strands: the first analyzes the integration of immigration enforcement practices into healthcare settings and their implications for the well-being of documented Haitian immigrants; the second explores how immigrant communities navigate healthcare systems that appear formally inclusive but operate in exclusionary ways. She is committed to advancing interdisciplinary conversations around equity and justice in healthcare delivery and policy.

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RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Recent Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

• Akalın, N. (2024). Immigrant-blind care: How immigrants experience the “inclusive” health system as they access care. Social Science & Medicine, 348(9). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116822
• Gil-García, Ó. F., Akalın, N., Bove, F., Vener, S. (2024). Understanding the mobilities of indigenous migrant youth across the Americas. Social Sciences, 13(2): 91.

Papers Under Review

• Akalın, N. “Affect and Healthcare Access: Gratitude in Haitian Immigrants’ Medical Encounters” (Submitted to Emotion, Space and Society for a special issue).
• Akalın, N., Velasko, K., Masani, S. “Bridging Histories and Habitats: A Lesson to Build Students’ Understanding of the Historical Contexts of Inequities in Human Health and Ecology in an Introductory Level Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.” (Submitted to CourseSource).

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